Indonesia-based insurtech startup Qoala, said Wednesday it has successfully raised Series B funding of $65 million led by Eurazeo.
The round also saw participation from several existing investors including Flourish Ventures, KB Investment, MassMutual Ventures, MDI Ventures, SeedPlus and Sequoia Capital India, Qoala said in a statement.
BRI Ventures, Daiwa PI Partners, Indogen Capital, Mandiri Capital Indonesia and Salt Ventures also joined the investment round as new investors, it added.
“Qoala is the only insurtech with licenses in three markets in Southeast Asia and with this new round we are optimistic in sustaining our growth momentum. Our business in Thailand has also already grown by three times since we joined forces with FairDee in February 2021, which gives us confidence in our expansion capability,” added Tommy Martin, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Qoala.
Qoala aims to add over 250 employees this year focus on building out an engineering and product management hub in Gurugram, India. In parallel, it also plans to grant employees with equity compensation and give them the right to acquire shares in the company to strengthen employee ownership in the company.
“We will continue to invest towards scaling up Qoala’s reach in our core markets and focus on enhancing our technology and product experience to greatly reduce the hurdles to accessing insurance that are today still very significant,
“Insurance penetration in Indonesia is currently only 2 percent, far behind the global average of 6%, with most consumers just beginning to understand the value of insurance and hence there is plenty of room for growth. Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia are amongst the top 10 fastest growing global markets for insurance in the next decade,” said Harshet Lunani, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Qoala.
Qoala is a startup in the field of insurance technology with a mission to socialize insurance through a combination of new product development supported by machine learning-based claim processes. It operates in three countries; Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand offering various insurance protections, ranging from health, motor vehicle, property, personal accident, and other needs.
“Qoala stands out amongst the insurtech companies due to its diverse team which has been able to deliver rapid growth with promising unit economics despite the pandemic. With regional presence and fast growth forecasted for the region, we are excited to lead this round and join Qoala in its journey,” said Tara Reeves of Eurazeo.
Having grown 30 times since the Series A round in April 2020, Qoala said it is the fastest growing insurtech in Southeast Asia. The company has acquired over 50,000 insurance marketers and provides a platform supported by over 50 insurers for them to sell insurance from multiple insurers, while managing pre-sale and post-sale services. It also provides several innovative micro-insurance products through its partnerships with Traveloka, Redbus, DANA, JD.ID, Shopee, Kredivo and Investree among others.
Qoala sets itself apart through a superior tech stack. This enables the firm to offer industry-leading speed in policy issuance, instant pricing as well as an industry first – instant commissions to insurance marketers. These innovations not only solve very key issues for insurance marketers and consumers but also allow Qoala to acquire and service consumers at a lower cost, leading to superior unit economics. Global insurers like Sompo, AXA, and Chubb have also joined Qoala’s platform due to their focus on retail customers so they can fasten insurance adoption while maintaining healthy loss ratios.
“Qoala’s business model of expanding the use of insurance among underserved consumers in Southeast Asia resonates with our thesis of backing innovation to improve financial health of households. We are excited about the momentum that Qoala has generated since we last invested in Series A. We at Flourish Ventures are pleased to continue our commitment to Qoala.”” said Smita Aggarwal, Global Investments Advisor at Flourish Ventures.