Waada, a Karachi-based online insurance startup, has acquired MicroEnsure Pakistan, a rival InsurTech company.
According to a report from propakistani, Waada acquired MicroEnsure Pakistan, a subsidiary of MIC Global that operates in South Asia and Africa, in an all-stock buyout. Waada did not disclose the deal’s value.
Alongside the acquisition, Waada also raised $1.3m in a seed round from local angel investors and foreign venture capital firms.
Waada’s in-house platform is designed to enable anyone in the country to virtually sign-up, watch training videos, qualify as a gig agent and get policies issued within minutes without ever visiting Waada’s premises.
The company said this creates value by reducing admin costs in the distribution chain enabling Waada to offer a higher commission to agents and lower prices to the customer.
MicroEnsure and Waada both have a combined active customer base of 1.5 million.
With the acquisition, Waada is on a mission to become the leading brand of insurance in Pakistan, distributing 10 million policies in the next three to five years.
Ishaq Kothawala, CEO & founder of Waada, said, “Pakistan Insurance penetration is 0.7%, the lowest in the region. Technology can play a huge role to tap that gap, specifically through creating the gig economy for agents and underwriters. This acquisition gives us the strength to lead that innovation from the front.
“Insurance is about selling a future promise, hence, establishing that trust to fulfill that Waada is crucial in distribution. Our primal nature depends on human connection to establish that trust. Therefore, I believe agents are always going to play a key role in Insurance distribution. The need is to automate every process, from underwriting to policy issuance, from leads management to commissions and claims, in order to empower agents to focus on selling and not the admin.”
PasarPolis, an Indonesian InsurTech startup, recently launched a direct-to-consumer vertical TAP Insure to make insurance more accessible.
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