Kenya’s insuretech platform Lami has announced a seed extension round which saw the startup raise $3.7 million in funding. The seed extension round follows more than a year after the startup raised $1.8 million in seed funding. The seed extension round was led by Harlem Capital and saw the participation of early-stage VC firm Newtown Partners, Peter Bruce-Clark (a partner at New York’s research-driven venture capital company Social Impact Capital), Caribou Honig, and Jay Weintraub of InsureTech Connect (a networking platform for insurtech innovators) and senior members from Exotix Advisory, a corporate finance and mergers and acquisition boutique focused on emerging markets.
The latest funding will be used to sponsor the startup’s expansion plans, hire more talents and drive more partnerships.
Founded in 2018 by Abass Jihan, Lami builds and distributes end-to-end digital services and API that enable businesses in various sectors to create customer-tailored insurance solutions. Although its primary business is its API, Lami plans to offer solutions that would digitalize agents and brokers and help them have a wider reach.
Lami’s CEO and founder revealed that the startup has made its entry into Nigeria and Egypt, adding that there were plans to offer more product lines in the work. She emphasized that the startup will continue to work on and explore new ways to become better and more relevant while also increasing penetration. “On the technology side, we want to cater to the entire insurance ecosystem. So, it’s not only the digital platforms that want to sell insurance products but also to help existing players be more efficient in their distribution of products, allowing them to play a role in increasing the insurance penetration level. This includes agents and brokers — we are looking into how we can empower them to sell more policies,” she said. It is also pertinent to know that the company’s Chief Financial Officer Roy Perlot has been appointed as a co-founder of the startup. He has been with the startup since 2020.
“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,” Harlem Capital principal Gabby Cazeau said explaining its investment in the insuretech.
