Bode Pedro, CEO of Casava, has called on the global investment community to take advantage of the massive opportunity in Africa.
Pedro issued this challenge while speaking at the Black Founders Meetup on day two of Insurtech Connect, Las Vegas, a global gathering of tech entrepreneurs, investors, and insurance industry leaders presented by McKinsey & Company.
According to him, the African market for insurance premiums remains astronomic despite recently projected growth in written insurance premiums, with less than 5percent of its 1.47 billion citizens insured.” That is changing now, with a projected record 30 percent annual growth in gross written insurance premiums in Nigeria alone. We will now have over 5 million Nigerians insured. Even though that’s a record, 5 million in a country with a population of 211 million people is a massive opportunity,” he said.
He noted that despite the low insurance penetration on the continent, Africans are still taking on the world and excelling in multiple industries, including music, movies, sports, enterprise and the arts. “Imagine what Africa will be like in 10 years when millions of people can be given a new beginning with Insurance. Insurance will give the finest of Africa the bedrock to dream, aspire and thrive. Today, Africans are moving from consumers to producers. Tomorrow, Africans will become innovators and world changemakers.”
“As the world ages, Africa erupts—youthful, vibrant, unstoppable. In 20 years, one in four humans will be African – her true natural resource,” Pedro said, highlighting the potential of the African continent.
The Casava CEO also called attention to the astronomical growth of enterprises on the continent in recent times. “You can be astounded by our enterprise with over 300 million micro and small business owners and especially the rise of the African tech entrepreneurs pulling in over $3 billion in startup funding in 2021.”
He then expressed his firm’s readiness to facilitate the adoption of insurance schemes on the continent “by digitally powering a community of agents and partners to provide Nigerians and eventually all of Africa, young and old, with affordable, accessible, valuable and delightful insurance protection so that these fine Africans can thrive and prosper.”
“ITC Vegas 2023 is truly the world’s largest gathering of insurance innovation,” said Bill Harris, co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer at ITC Vegas. “The event was fortunate to have companies from 60 countries participate, including Casava, based in Nigeria. Led by Bode Pedro, Casava is a general and life microinsurance leader that is setting the standard for customer experience,” he added.
“Bode, along with Tunde Salako of the Africa Insurtech Lab and the team from the Northwestern Mutual Black Founder Accelerator powered by gener8tor, hosted the Black Founders Meetup at ITC Vegas. With his prescient insights and unique flair, Bode presented his thoughts on being a successful founder and gave the 100 or so carriers, investors, and innovators gathered a taste of West African culture as well!” Harris further explained.
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Speaking after the event, which concluded with an Afro-Fusion Showcase, the CEO of Africa Insurtech Lab, Tunde Salako, revealed that the Black Founders Meetup and Casava’s collaboration with the Afro-Fusion showcase was to position the continent to attract more opportunities.
“We wanted to use this event to spotlight the beauty of the African continent, knowing that it would engender more economic collaborations,” he said. According to him, the showcase successfully highlighted Africa’s creativity, beauty and contributions to the world.
The 2023 ITC Vegas is the largest so far, as it welcomed more than the anticipated 9,000 career professionals and industry leaders from across the globe.
