Time flies with great content! Renew in to keep enjoying all our premium content.
Prime
FSD Africa sets up Sh3.9bn fund to scale up insurance start-ups
A panel discussion during the launch of the FSD Africa venture fund on November 26, 2025 at the Sarit Centre Expo. The fund will accelerate insurance innovation in Africa to close the continents protection gap.
Photo credit: Francis Nderitu I Nation Media Group
Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) Africa has announced a $30 million (Sh3.89 billion) fund aimed at supporting insurance start-ups to scale their operations and accelerate the uptake of insurance products across the continent.
The fund, called Inclusive Insurtech Investment Fund (3iF), will bridge the financing gap that prevents promising tech-enabled solutions from scaling and addressing Africa’s substantial insurance protection gap.
Nairobi International Financial Centre Authority CEO Daniel Mainda (right) confers with British High Commission, First Secretary International Finance Andy baker during the launch of the FSD Africa venture fund on November 26, 2025 at the Sarit Centre Expo.
Photo credit: Francis Nderitu i Nation Media Group
It will focus on early- and growth-stage insurtechs developing affordable, inclusive products—particularly those using digital distribution, data analytics and embedded insurance models—to reach underserved households and small businesses.
The initiative builds on FSD’s BimaLab project—an insurtech accelerator that allows firms to experiment and deploy innovative insurance solutions.
FSD Africa Principal, Innovation for Resilience Elias Omondi (left) and Insurance Regulatory Authority of Kenya CEO and Commissioner of Insurance Godfrey Kiptum during the launch of the FSD Africa $30 million Venture Fund on November 26, 2025 at the Sarit Centre Expo.
Photo credit: Francis Nderitu I Nation Media Group
BimaLab started in 2020 in Kenya and has since supported over 135 startups in 28 African countries including Uganda, Rwanda, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe and Malawi.
The fund was announced at the opening ceremony of the BimaLab Africa Insurtech Summit in Nairobi. The annual event brings together insurers, regulators, investors, innovators, tech partners and development leaders from across Africa and beyond.
“This fund will enable innovators within the insurance space to develop insurance solutions that meet the needs of the people and at the same time enable them to scale and reach more people and close the huge protection gap we see in Africa today,” said Elias Omondi, principal of innovation for resilience at FSD Africa.
“Africa’s protection gap is not just a market failure; it’s a capacity and capital gap. BimaLab Africa Insurtech Accelerator combines focused technical support with catalytic funding, we enable insurtechs to de-risk innovation, scale inclusive products and reach the millions who remain unprotected.”
The fund, which will be operationalised in January next year, has a blended structure combining junior equity from catalytic investors, anchored by FSD Africa’s investment arm called Investments (FSDAi). Senior equity will come from commercial and strategic investors led by Zep-Re.
Participants follow proceedings during the launch of the FSD Africa $30 million venture fund on November 26, 2025 at the Sarit Centre Expo.
FSD Africa has already committed $6 million while its strategic partner Swiss Re Foundation has committed $5 million.
“Insurtechs are very crucial because they go to the last mile—the place where the people who are most exposed and need insurance the most are. Insurtechs will get there cheaply and with affordable products,” said Godfrey Kiptum, IRA chief executive.
FSD Africa said the initiative will help address Africa’s persistently low insurance penetration by helping startups overcome constraints such as limited risk capital, weak distribution channels and regulatory complexity. Priority areas include health, agriculture, climate risk, and MSME insurance, where coverage gaps are widest.
The fund will also work alongside regulators, insurers, mobile network operators and investors to de-risk innovation and crowd in additional private capital.
Over time, FSD Africa expects the programme to help scale proven solutions, strengthen local insurance ecosystems and improve financial resilience for millions of people across Africa.
