Waada acquires MicroEnsure, with the completion of a $1.3 million seed round

To get a foothold in the expanding market, Pakistani online insurance company Waada acquired local rival MicroEnsure Pakistan to become the region’s dominant player.

According to a statement released Friday, Waada acquired MicroEnsure Pakistan, a division of MIC Global with operations in South Asia and Africa, in an all-stock deal. Waada stated that there are 1.5 million active customers across the businesses combined without providing the deal’s worth. Waada recently announced the completion of a $1.3 million seed round from regional angel investors and international venture capital firms.

With the use of Waada’s internal platform, anyone in the nation can virtually join up, view training videos, become qualified as a gig agent, and receive policies in just a few minutes—all without ever having to set foot on the company’s property. By lowering administrative expenses along the supply chain, this automation adds value and enables Waada to pay more commissions to agents and cheaper pricing to customers.

“Since insurance is about selling a promise about the future, building the trust necessary to deliver that promise is essential in the distribution process. Human connection is required for our fundamental nature to develop trust. As a result, I think agents will always be important in the distribution of insurance. To enable agents to concentrate on selling rather than administration, it is necessary to automate every process, from underwriting to policy issuance, from leads management to commissions & claims. Ishaq Kothawala, the CEO and founder of Waada, was mentioned.

The creator of Planet N, a Waada investor that assisted in structuring the deal with MicroEnsure, Nadeem Hussain, asserted that this is the first of many consolidations that the Pakistani sector will go through. The world’s economic recession will make fundraising a challenge.

One of the largest unbanked populations in the world, Pakistan has significant growth potential for its financial sector. Only 0.7% of the population is insured, which is lower than that of its Asian neighbors.

Waada wants to increase its customer base through online sign-ups and distribute 10 million policies during the next three to five years.

Image Credit: Waada