ETAP, an insurtech business that simplifies the process of purchasing and claiming insurance, has raised $1.5 million in pre-seed funding to expand its staff and accelerate the uptake of critical car insurance across Africa. The new capital will be used to accelerate the roll-out of ETAP’s game-changing app, which enables users to purchase insurance in 90 seconds, process claims in three minutes or less, and earn rewards for safe driving and avoiding accidents.
Mobility 54 (the venture capital arm of Toyota Tsusho and CFAO Group) led the pre-seed fundraising round, which also included Tangerine Insurance, Graph Ventures (who previously invested in Clubhouse), Newmont, Voltron Capital, and other angel investors. ETAP will also investigate further options to provide much-needed insurance services to car owners in other countries throughout the continent, in collaboration with a diverse variety of automotive value chain companies.
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“Just like any other digital service, we believe Nigerians should be able to buy and claim car insurance without having to ‘call a guy’. We also believe that rewarding good drivers can be a catalyst for better driving and making our roads safer. This is why we have created Africa’s most powerful car insurance app and we are excited to have raised these funds to bring more users on board. Too often, the process of buying and claiming insurance in Africa is so out of touch with the everyday reality of most people but we are changing the game and making the process just as enjoyable as any other experience that consumers access on the mobile phone,” Ibraheem Babalola, CEO and founder of ETAP, said.
Why The Investors Invested
Investors are convinced about the potential of Nigeria’s automobile insurtech market.
Despite a long-standing legislation requiring car insurance and over 100,000 reported car accidents between January 2019 and December 2021, only one in every five cars in Nigeria is currently insured. Due to the complexity of purchasing and claiming insurance, there is widespread dissatisfaction with traditional insurance companies and products, with many car owners electing to go without insurance. With ETAP, the complete insurance purchase and claim procedure takes place entirely on a smartphone, providing users with a streamlined and delightful insurance experience.
Since its beta launch in November 2021, ETAP has insured over 130,000 individual trips and over 500,000 kilometers of car rides, which is more than eight times the total length of Nigeria’s paved roadways.
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Yumi Takagi, Project Manager at Mobility 54 said, “ETAP is addressing many challenges that impact the automotive experience in Africa and we are excited to support and work with them to bring their innovation to more drivers across the continent. We believe that ETAP will engage with this important role and revolutionize the automotive insurance industry with their powerful technology.”
A Look At What The Startup Does
Founded in 2021 by Ibraheem Babalola, ETAP leverages machine learning to develop intelligent risk profiles for each motorist, enabling them to achieve cheaper premiums by driving safely. The driving experience is gamified to encourage better driving behavior, and drivers may earn Safe Driving Points to redeem for shopping vouchers at the most popular retail stores, fuel, movie and concert tickets, and other interesting events. Additionally, drivers have a variety of coverage options based on their needs, including daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual plans. In the unfortunate event of an accident, customers simply take a photo of the damaged area of the automobile using the app, and the artificial intelligence analyzes the claim based on previously provided photographs. The software has geolocation tags, timestamps, and other anti-fraud features, as well as crash notice and emergency help.
ETAP digital insurance ETAP digital insurance
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh