Kenyan startup Lami secures Ksh.440M seed extension to expand across Africa

Lami uses an API to enable businesses like banks, start-ups and organisations to offer digital insurance products to their users. The product can also be used by partner businesses to manage their own insurance needs.

The extension was led by New York-based venture firm Harlem Capital which invests in seed-stage tech-enabled startups, focused on minority and women founders.

Other participants in the round include Newtown Partners, Peter Bruce-Clark, Caribou Honig and Jay Weintraub of InsureTech Connect, among others.

Lami founder and CEO Jihan Abass on Monday said the additional funding will be used for business development, product and technology development, and expansion to other countries including Egypt, Nigeria and Uganda.

“Lami is pioneering innovation in the insurance sector, and we are glad to have secured the right partners to help drive insurance uptake across Africa. We are looking to make insurance easily accessible to everyone on the continent, and we will continually be unveiling more products that confirm this resolve,” said Ms. Abbas.

On their part, Harlem Capital said they were drawn to Lami by its diverse market scope and strategic approach to growth.

Harlem Capital Principal Gabby Cazeau said: “We believe the next wave of fintech will embed financial products and services like insurance into a customer’s purchase experience.” 

“Lami’s approach to serving people through strategic partners in e-commerce and finance is the best way to build trust with users and deliver insurance in a seamless, accessible way to Africans across the continent. Lami’s impressive growth to date shows that this resonates with customers and has a strong trajectory as they expand across the continent,” she added.

Founded in 2018, Lami seeks to address low insurance uptake in Africa, which currently stands at around 2.8 percent, and help the continent move from the sluggish and traditional paper-based systems.

The company has to date worked with leading names among them buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) startup Lipa Later, insurers such as Britam, Pioneer and  Madison, as well as logistics startup Sendy.

Currently, the firm says it is working with underwriters in different markets to create an all-risk cover for (BNPL) transactions.

Last year in May, the startup raised over Ksh.202 million ($1.8 million) seed money from a round led by Accion Venture Lab. The latest extension now brings the total raised by the insurtech to Ksh.655 million ($5.5 million).