Curacel: Bridging Africa’s Insurance Gap with AI
- a n
- Nov 12
- 6 min read
Introduction
Curacel is a Nigerian-based insurtech startup founded in 2019, with a clear mission: to make insurance accessible, efficient, and trustworthy across Africa through the use of artificial intelligence. In a continent where insurance penetration is alarmingly low—often under 3%—Curacel is positioning itself as the technological bridge that connects traditional insurance systems with the modern digital economy. At its core, Curacel builds tools that enable insurance companies to automate claims processing, detect fraudulent activity, and distribute insurance products via digital platforms. The startup operates as a B2B infrastructure company, helping insurers become more agile and responsive in environments where paperwork, slow settlements, and limited access have historically undermined the sector. With their innovative use of cloud computing and AI, Curacel is turning insurance from a distant concept into a service that can be embedded into daily life, from taking a ride to buying a mobile phone. This digital transformation is particularly meaningful in the African context, where speed, affordability, and trust are essential to expanding coverage.
Why Curacel Matters
Insurance Gap Closer: Africa has one of the lowest insurance adoption rates globally, often less than 3%, compared to over 50% in more developed economies. This means that most people lack access to basic financial protection. Curacel steps in to close this gap by digitizing and streamlining the insurance process. By enabling insurers to reach users digitally—especially through mobile platforms—Curacel makes it feasible to offer micro-insurance products and low-cost policies that meet the needs of lower-income populations.
AI-Powered Fraud Prevention: Insurance fraud is a significant drain on insurer finances, especially in systems with weak documentation and oversight. Curacel's AI and machine learning algorithms detect inconsistencies and suspicious claim patterns, identifying red flags such as duplicate billing or impossible treatment combinations. This helps insurers reduce their losses and focus on legitimate customers, enhancing the overall sustainability of the industry.
Real-Time Claims Settlements: Curacel enables health and auto insurers to process claims in real time. For consumers, this can mean receiving reimbursement within hours, rather than weeks or months. This transformation dramatically improves customer experience and trust—two elements critical to increasing insurance adoption. For many Africans who view insurance with skepticism, the ability to see a claim settled instantly can be a game-changer.
Embedded Insurance Distribution: Through Curacel Grow, insurance can now be offered as an add-on at checkout—during a loan application, flight booking, or e-commerce purchase. This expands distribution beyond traditional brokers to fintech apps, ride-hailing services, and mobile banking platforms. Embedded insurance increases visibility and accessibility, especially for first-time insurance users.
Empowering Partners and Ecosystems: Curacel isn't building consumer-facing apps. Instead, it's developing infrastructure tools that insurers and digital platforms can use to grow. This scalable approach means one API integration can potentially reach millions of users, magnifying Curacel’s impact. It allows traditional insurers to modernize quickly and lets digital companies generate new revenue by offering insurance.
Social and Economic Impact: Beyond financial metrics, insurance helps communities recover from setbacks—be it a car accident, medical emergency, or natural disaster. By making insurance more widespread, Curacel indirectly contributes to poverty reduction and economic stability, especially in regions vulnerable to economic shocks.
Inception and Development
Curacel was founded in 2019 by Henry Mascot and John Dada. Initially, the company focused on electronic health record software to help hospitals digitize patient information. However, while working with healthcare providers, the founders uncovered a far more pressing issue: insurance claims. Providers and insurers were bogged down by mountains of paperwork, leading to delays and rampant fraud. Recognizing a greater need, Curacel pivoted later that year to build AI-powered claims automation tools.
The company transitioned into the insurtech space with a clear goal: use AI and automation to make insurance claims faster and less vulnerable to abuse. The first version of their product focused on helping health insurers process claims more accurately, flagging issues before payout. As traction grew, Curacel expanded its services to include auto insurance claims and eventually developed a distribution platform through embedded insurance.
Some notable milestones include:
2020: Curacel transitioned fully to insurtech, helping insurers reduce claims fraud and automate approvals.
2022: The company joined Y Combinator’s Winter cohort and launched "Curacel Grow," an API platform that enables embedded insurance.
2023: Raised $3M in seed funding from investors like Y Combinator and Google.
2024–2025: Entered North African markets including Egypt and Morocco, and won the GITEX Africa Supernova Challenge in 2025, establishing international credibility.
From digitizing claims to distributing embedded insurance, Curacel’s evolution has been shaped by solving real problems at scale, guided by insights from local partners and stakeholders.
Impact & Importance
$100M+ in Processed Claims: Curacel has helped process more than $100 million worth of claims across 8 African countries, showcasing the scale and reliability of its platform.
Fraud Reduction: AI systems have significantly reduced fraudulent payouts, tackling the estimated 20% of premiums lost to fraud. This makes insurance more viable for both insurers and policyholders.
Faster Payouts: Claims processing time has improved by over 70%, making insurance more trustworthy and consumer-friendly.
Partnerships: Over 20 insurance companies and 100+ businesses—including hospitals, fintechs, and auto service providers—use Curacel’s APIs.
Scaling Across Africa: The company operates in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Senegal, Morocco, and Egypt, adapting its solutions to different regulatory and cultural environments.
Revenue & Traction: In 2022 alone, transaction volume grew by 600% and revenue by 500%, indicating strong demand and effective scaling.
Financial Inclusion: By enabling micro-insurance and digital policy distribution, Curacel is helping extend financial services to underserved populations, including informal workers and low-income families.
Challenges & Limitations
Insurance Illiteracy: Many people in Africa still don’t trust or understand insurance, which limits uptake and requires heavy investment in consumer education.
Regulatory Fragmentation: Each African country has different rules, requiring local legal expertise and tailored compliance strategies.
Infrastructure Gaps: Poor internet access and low smartphone penetration in rural areas limit the full reach of digital insurance services.
Legacy Systems: Many insurers still use outdated software or paper-based systems, making integration complex and slowing down adoption.
Rising Competition: The African insurtech landscape is becoming more competitive with the rise of players like Lami (Kenya) and Naked Insurance (South Africa).
Data Privacy Concerns: As Curacel handles sensitive health and personal data, it must maintain high standards for security and privacy to build trust.
Strategic Outlook & Opportunities
Curacel’s future is full of possibilities, driven by its position as an infrastructure enabler in a high-growth industry. One of the biggest opportunities lies in deepening its AI capabilities to support not just fraud detection and claims processing, but also risk scoring and dynamic underwriting. As the company amasses more data, it can develop smarter models that allow insurers to price products more accurately, thus expanding their product range to new demographics.
The embedded insurance model remains a cornerstone of Curacel’s growth. By integrating with fintech apps, travel services, logistics providers, and even government portals, Curacel can facilitate point-of-need insurance offerings. This model is especially suited for low-cost, high-volume products like smartphone insurance, gig-worker health insurance, or crop insurance for farmers.
Geographic expansion also remains a key part of Curacel’s strategy. Having established a presence in Anglophone and Francophone Africa, the company can use its flexible API infrastructure to enter similar markets in South Asia and Latin America. Moreover, with rising recognition—including from GITEX and global VCs—Curacel is well-positioned to form partnerships with reinsurers, regulators, and international development agencies seeking to modernize insurance systems.
The startup may also explore vertical expansion. For example, it could build tools for premium collection, digital KYC, or even offer white-labeled apps for smaller insurers. These additional services would not only increase revenue but deepen client dependence on the Curacel ecosystem.
Conclusions
Curacel is a standout example of how African startups are using technology not just to catch up with the rest of the world but to leapfrog outdated systems entirely. Its use of AI to automate claims and detect fraud addresses core pain points in Africa’s insurance industry. By combining infrastructure tools for insurers with distribution platforms for other digital businesses, Curacel has created a win-win model that accelerates insurance adoption while lowering operational costs.
Though the startup faces hurdles like regulatory complexity and digital access gaps, its continued growth and expansion into new markets show strong signs of resilience and strategic planning. If Curacel maintains its pace and adapts to new technological trends, it could become a foundational layer for insurance in emerging markets—not just in Africa but globally.
By making insurance faster, smarter, and easier to access, Curacel is not just building a company—it’s reshaping how an entire continent engages with financial protection. And in doing so, it’s proving that African startups can lead the way in solving local problems with global relevance.
