The new funding will accelerate Product development, Financial Inclusion, and expansion in Nigeria and across the African continent.
Curacel is an AI-powered insurance technology (Insur-tech) Startup created for claims processing and fraud management in Africa, has raised $450,000 pre-seed funding in a round that was led by Atlantica Ventures with consonance participation from Kepple Ventures and other African angel investors.
Launched in 2017, Curacel automates the insurance claims process, allowing seamless and efficient claims processing and automatically vets claims to detect fraud, waste and abuse (FWA).
Before Curacel evolved into an Insurtech platform, it started out as an electronic health information management system, the startup has now developed into an AI-powered insurtech infrastructure company that helps insurers and partners in Africa and other emerging markets increase the reach and functionality of insurance through cloud-based tools and APIs.
The startup already works with some of the top insurers on the continent, including AXA Mansard, Liberty Health and Old Mutual, as well as more than 800 hospitals in Nigeria, Ghana, and Uganda.
It also plans to expand into at least 10 new African countries by the end of 2021.
However, You should know that African insurers lose more than $12 billion to fraudulent, wasteful, and abusive claims every year. This consistent problem is one being tackled by one of Curacel’s flagship product, CLAIMS which acts as an intermediary between primary care hospitals and Africa’s insurance companies, using advanced artificial intelligence to ensure that insurance companies only pay claims for the correct treatment, appropriate medications and recommended patient therapies.
Curacel is also making plans to unveil its latest product, Curacel Capital- a cash advance product that makes it easier for healthcare providers to access working capital to mitigate financial challenges.
You should also know that delayed payments and other encumbrances in the payment process mean many African healthcare providers usually have to make the difficult choice between keeping the books balanced or providing healthcare at a loss.
These and many more problems in the Insurtech sector is what Curacel is tackling with different initiatives. “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. At Curacel, we are uniquely positioned to safeguard livelihoods and increase the quality of life through our unique, market-leading products and services,” said Curacel co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Henry Mascot.
Furthermore, he explained that the new investment will be used to accelerate Curacel’s expansion plans across Africa and facilitate the goal of becoming Africa’s premier provider of embedded finance technology for insurance.
Also speaking, IK Kanu one of the Partners at Atlantica Ventures noted that, “the African insurance market represents a significant growth opportunity and we are delighted to be partnering with Curacel to drive growth in this sector.
There is an opportunity to create an entirely new market of products and services here and we look forward to supporting the team to improve health outcomes across the continent. ”We believe the Curacel team has what it takes to be market leaders and we are excited to support them. They have a great product and we are delighted to be coming onboard at this early stage, ” Mobolaji Adeoye, Managing Partner at Consonance added.
You should know that in less than 4 years of operating, Curacel has been able to-
Work with over 10 insurance companies across Africa.
Assisted clients to reduce FWA claims payouts by up to 25% and saved a total of $320k.
Processed 700k+ claims and have the capacity to process an infinite number.