Lami Technologies, based in Kenya, has raised a US$3.7 million seed extension to develop its insurtech offering across Africa.
Harlem Capital, an early-stage venture firm that invests in seed-stage tech-enabled enterprises headed by minority and female founders, led the extension. Early-stage venture capital firm Newtown Partners; Peter Bruce-Clark, a partner at New York’s research-driven venture capital firm 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 M&A boutique focused on emerging and developing markets, were among those who participated in the round.
It follows a $1.8 million round led by seed-stage investment firm Accion Venture Lab last year, which included AAIC, Consonance, P1 Ventures, Acuity Ventures, The Continent Venture Partners, and Future Africa.
The additional financing, according to Lami founder and CEO Jihan Abass, would be utilized for business development, product and technology development, and expansion into other countries such as 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,” she said.
Harlem Capital said they were drawn to Lami by its diverse market scope and strategic approach to growth.
“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 ecommerce 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 have a strong trajectory as they expand across the continent,” said Harlem Capital Principal Gabby Cazeau.
“There are numerous societal vulnerabilities around the globe that will only be addressed by innovative, and technology-led solutions within this century. Lami’s products, many of which are accessible instantly, ushers Africa into a new and financially safer paradigm, a journey we’re passionate to be involved in,” added Peter Bruce-Clark.
In addition, Lami’s existing CFO, Roy Perlot, has been named a co-founder. Perlot has been with the company since 2020 and has helped it grow by bringing extensive strategic leadership and extensive knowledge across Africa.
Lami Technologies was formed in 2018 to address the issue of poor insurance adoption in Africa, which is exacerbated by the sector’s slow rate of innovation, leaving the continent to struggle with sluggish and outdated paper-based systems.