Singapore-based Igloo, previously often called Axinan, has raised $8.2 million because the insurance-tech startup appears to be like to broaden its foothold in half a dozen Southeast Asian markets and Australia.
InVent, a company enterprise capital arm of telecommunications agency Intouch Holdings, led Igloo’s prolonged Sequence A spherical, the startup instructed TechCrunch. Current buyers Openspace Ventures, a enterprise capital fund that invests in Southeast Asia, and Linear Capital, a Shanghai-based early-stage enterprise capital agency specializing in tech-driven startups, participated on this spherical, which makes four-year-old Igloo’s to-date elevate to $16 million. It raised about $1 million in its Seed financing spherical.Igloo — based by Wei Zhu, who beforehand served as Chief Know-how Officer at Seize — works with e-commerce and journey companies similar to Lazada, RedDoorz, and Shopee in Southeast Asia to supply their prospects insurance coverage merchandise that present safety on electronics, and protection on accidents and journey.
The startup, which additionally operates in Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia, mentioned greater than 15 million customers have benefitted from its insurance coverage merchandise up to now, and within the final one 12 months it has processed greater than 50 million transactions.
Igloo, which rebranded from Axinan this month, mentioned insurance coverage merchandise are proving particularly helpful to — and fashionable amongst — folks throughout the coronavirus outbreak.
Wei Zhu instructed TechCrunch that the startup has seen a surge in transactions and buyer acquisitions within the final 45 days. “Whereas some journey associated enterprise have seen a dip, the bigger e-commerce enterprise continues to see a surge,” he added.
“With COVID-19 impacting each aspect of private life and enterprise, digitisation may also help the world modify to the brand new regular. That is particularly obvious in insurance coverage, the place we are able to faucet on digital channels for distribution and in addition for creating consciousness,” he mentioned.
“We see that digital insurance coverage is on the rise in Southeast Asia, and we consider that Igloo, with our digital-first method and enlargement of our product portfolio into private well being, accident and different associated merchandise may also help fill these gaps and handle shoppers’ wants for private well-being,” he added.
He mentioned the digital insurance coverage penetration stays low in Southeast Asia, and Igloo sees huge alternative within the area. In accordance with one estimate (PDF), Southeast Asia’s digital insurance coverage market is at present valued at $2 billion and is predicted to develop to $Eight billion by 2025.
The startup, which competes with a handful of startups together with Singapore Life and Saphron, will use the recent capital to broaden its enterprise growth and engineering groups and broaden its presence within the half-dozen markets. It's already participating with telecom operators, banks, non-banking monetary companies, and journey companies, it mentioned.
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