South Africa-based insurtech startup CompariSure has announced today that it has secured venture capital (VC) funding from SA Umkhathi Wethu Ventures in partnership with Allan Gray. The deal comes off the back of CompariSure’s first external investment deal concluded in August last year with SA VC company 4Di Capital (which was not announced to the media at the time).

“This growth capital funding has given us significant runway and will allow us to explore new strategic initiatives, such as new product and industry use-cases for our chatbot, as well as opportunities outside of SA,” said co-founder Jonathan Elcock.

Here Is What You Need To Know

• The details of the latest investment, as well as that of the 4Di Capital investment, were not disclosed.
• UW Ventures will support CompariSure with its scaling ambitions, including into international markets.
• Edgar Loxton, a director at Allan Gray, and 4Di Capital partner Anton Van Vlaanderen will sit on the CompariSure board.
• In a statement today, co-founder Matthew Kloos explained that at the time that the original deal was concluded in August last year, 4Di Capital was eager for the insurtech to find another institutional investor to diversify the shareholder base, which is how Umkhathi Wethu (UW) Ventures and Allan Gray came on board.

“In combining 4Di’s deep understanding of insurtech with Allan Gray’s extensive financial services expertise and Ventures’ strategic and business support, we feel our investor base could neither be stronger nor more experienced,” commented Kloos.

Read also: Why More South African Startups Have Raised Funds This Year

A Look At What Startup CompariSure Does

• CompariSure was founded in 2017 by Jonathan Elcock (a former manager at insurance provider MiWay according to his LinkedIn profile. He was joined subsequently by co-founder Matthew Kloos.
• The startup distributes financial services products via its proprietary chatbot technology that leverages platforms like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.
• CompariSure said it had recently begun licensing out its chatbot technology to insurance providers looking to enhance their own digital capabilities.
• The startup has worked with some of South Africa’s top insurance providers, including the likes of Sanlam, Old Mutual, and Momentum Metropolitan.
• Elcock said in the same statement, that over 70% of the startup’s sales are concluded without any human engagement, at all hours of the day and night.
• Without revealing the figures, he said the startup had seen “record volumes” through the challenging and unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic.
• The startup however claims that over 250 000 South Africans from all walks of life have interacted with its chatbot via its online platform.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer.