Microhealth insurtech Jamii raises $750,000 for Africa expansion
Tanzanian micro-health insurance start-up Jamii has secured $750,000 in a now-closed seed funding round, which will be added to a grant of the same figure from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The money will be used to expand its mobile policy management platform, offering users access to low-cost insurance using quick codes, into Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Ghana. Jamii won the Tanzanian leg of the Seedstars World competition, and its founders will look for up to $1m funding from Swiss backers in the near future.
Tanzanian micro-health insurance startup Jamii has closed a US$750,000 seed round for expanding across the country and into East and Central Africa.

Jamii, which launched in January 2015, has built a mobile policy management platform that performs all the administration activities of an insurer, and allows users to access cheap insurance via USSD.

The startup was in September named the winner of the Tanzanian leg of the Seedstars World competition, and will shortly be heading to Switzerland to pitch for up to US$1 million in investment.

Jamii has now closed its seed round, made up of 50 per cent grant money and 50 per cent VC funding, which founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Lilian Makoi says will help it impact the lives of 720,000 people by 2018 as it expands across Africa.

The startup had already obtained grant money from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and will launch in five other African countries in 2017, namely Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa.

Jamii has formed strategic partnerships with Jubilee Insurance and Vodacom Tanzania to enable mobile premium collection and a cashless facility from over 400 hospitals.