By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The sum of $450,000 has been secured by a Nigerian insurtech start-up, Curacel, in a pre-seed funding round.
The pre-seed round was led by Atlantica Ventures and Consonance with participation from Kepple Ventures and other African angel investors.
The funding package will help the company deepen insurance penetration in Nigeria and Africa at large, Business Post gathered.
Insurance is one sector many Nigerians have not fully embraced because of several factors, including religious beliefs, difficulty in claims, amongst others.
This is where Curacel has come to change the narrative, especially in healthcare insurance but ensuring that hospitals get payments for services rendered to policyholders.
The new fund raised by the company is expected to help the company expand its operations with the use of technology.
Since its inception about three years ago, Curacel has worked with top insurance companies in the country like Old Mutual, AXA Mansard Insurance, Hallmark HMO, amongst others but it intends to reach other African nations.
Curacel uses its Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered platform to allow insurers to automate claims seamlessly and also track fraud, waste and abuse (FWA).
Already, the company has helped its clients reduce FWA claims payouts by up to 25 per cent and saved a total of $320,000. It has also processed more than 700,000 claims and has the capacity to process an infinite number.
“We are excited to have these investors on board and we are looking forward to partnering with them to drive our vision of improving insurance inclusion across Africa,” the co-founder and chief executive officer of Curacel, Mr Henry Mascot, commented.
“At Curacel, we are uniquely positioned to safeguard livelihoods and increase the quality of life through our unique, market-leading products and services,” Mr Mascot added.
