south-africa
28 February 2023Analysis

Guardrisk seeks partners for insurtech initiative


Cell captive insurance provider Guardrisk is looking for innovative South African entrepreneurs and venture capital investors to partner with on the company’s insurtech initiative.

According to the company the initiative aims to harness the power of its technology-enabled ecosystem to unlock opportunities to develop relevant solutions that will create value for customers, the selected entrepreneurs, partners, and Guardrisk.

“The digital economy and the business landscape of today is constantly changing, making it essential for organisations in a fast-paced and competitive sector like insurance to evolve to stay relevant. This means adapting to specific business and industry challenges and changing customer needs,” said Xolani Nxanga, managing executive: microinsurance and insurtech lead at Guardrisk. “Technology – and insurtech solutions, in particular – increasingly provide the ability to transform one’s business and address client challenges.”

The company will partner with venture capital investors to co-invest in and support entrepreneurs in insurtech scale-ups predominantly – and start-ups where the solution is innovative and compelling enough to drive tangible and measurable business value.

Entrepreneurs should be able to show that there is a real need for the product or service, with solutions relating to customer engagement, product development and innovative technology-based business models. These can cover areas like customer engagement, underwriting, pricing, the claims process and payments – and should aim to improve the overall experience for the businesses and customers alike.

The initiative will provide tailored support for each entrepreneur, including both financial support through funding and non-financial support through business and technical mentorship. Support will also include finding the best and most effective distribution channels to match individual venture expertise.

LAUNCHPAD will invest in the business with the view to create a long-term partnership between Guardrisk and the entrepreneur. Selected entrepreneurs will have access to the extensive Guardrisk ecosystem, including its clients, partners, and service providers across sectors, as well as the organisation’s cell captive licence and deep specialist and technical expertise.

“Guardrisk is by nature an entrepreneurial business, so we understand the challenges and opportunities that entrepreneurs face in building and scaling their businesses – and are nimble enough to help them navigate these, grow and develop products and solutions that meet client needs while simultaneously enabling convenience, flexibility and cost-effectiveness,” said Nxanga.

“We are excited about the opportunity to partner and collaborate with entrepreneurs and venture capital investors to build a robust insurtech ecosystem that pushes beyond industry boundaries and uses innovation to solve real customer and business challenges in South Africa.”