Egypt’s Amenli is the only African startup on the global top 50 insurtechs list
INSURANCE
UTED
2024
TOP
SUMMER
Egyptian startup, Amenli, has emerged as the only African insurtech company in the Top 50 list of insurtech startups across the world. This is according to data crunched by the global startup analytics company, CB Insights.
Per the data, the insurtech pooled a total of 516 mosaic points to earn a spot in the global top 50. However, the 516 points gathered are the lowest points of all the startups represented in the global list, with the highest being South Korea’s Upstage.ai with 937 mosaic points.
Incidentally, Upstage.ai also happens to be the only startup from South Korea in the Top 50.
The United States proved its dominance as the insurtech capital of the world with 33 startups in the top 50, representing 66 per cent of the total. France is the second most-represented country on the list with eight startups, representing 16 per cent of the total. The UK comes next with three startups in the Top 50, representing six per cent.
Austria had two startups, while Ireland, Canada, South Korea and Egypt all had one startup representing them each.
Meet Amenli, the Egypt-based insurtech
Based in Cairo, Amenli was founded in 2020 by Shady ElTohfa, the company’s CEO, Adham Nauman, who serves as its Chief Technical Officer (CTO), and Omar Ezz El Din, who oversees finance.
Describing the motive behind founding the startup, Co-founder, El Tohfa, narrated to TechCrunch the story of two friends who suffered the same calamity of losing their fathers, but had different aftermaths. While one friend was pulled down by the weight of unpaid medical bills, which greatly impeded his ability to cater to his family, it was different for the other friend.
The difference was insurance, which helped his family escape the financial difficulties despite his father’s expensive treatments. This was quite remarkable considering that insurance in Egypt usually means an insurance company partnering with banks to sell insurance to mostly big-spending customers with high credit limits, leaving individuals out of the equation.
This gap means there’s a $2 billion untapped insurance market in Egypt waiting to be explored. Thus, Amenli, which prides itself as the first licensed online insurance broker in Egypt, provides individuals, families and SMEs with tailored insurance plans that fit their needs.
The startup offers an insurance brokerage solution that focuses on providing an online insurance buying experience. Thus, the company offers insurance quotes and allows customers to purchase policies from home. It primarily serves individuals with straightforward insurance solutions.
Amenli would go on to join the Y Combinator Summer 2021 cohort before going on to raise $2.3 million seed round soon afterwards, backed by a couple of local and foreign firms. The round was co-led by P1 Ventures, GFC, and Anim Fund (Founders Fund scout fund) and witnessed participation from Costanoa VC, Liquid2 Ventures, Cliff Angels and other angel investors.
The insurtech would attract another round of funding in 2023, when it closed a $1 million equity funding round. The round was led by Alter Global with participation from Qatar Insurance Corporation’s (QIC) corporate VC arm Digital Venture Partners (DVP).
At the time, the company said the new funding will enable it to expand its team, strengthen its product offerings and build a robust brand. It will also allow Amenli to introduce new products targeting both existing and new customer segments to satisfy their unmet insurance needs, as well as develop new distribution channels to maximise efficiency and reach.
Furthermore, Amenli wants to focus on dominating the B2B2C space, capitalising on its own Insurance API, to solidify its position as a trusted and innovative leader in the industry and remain on track to achieve its 2024 vision. The startups investors till date include Y Combinator, ANIM Fund, Costanoa Ventures, Global Founders Capital, Liquid 2 Ventures, P1 Ventures, Alter Global, Basil Al Moftah, QIC Digital Venture Partners, EBRD Venture Capital
