Britam and M-TIBA receive Swiss Capacity Building Facility (SCBF) funding to scale up mobile-based health insurance

Britam and M-TIBA have received funding from Zurich based SCBF for technical assistance to scale up a mobile health insurance solution offered by Britam and accessed on the M-TIBA mobile platform. The SCBF funding will enable the development of deep customer insights through customer research as well as enhanced data analytics and improved digital marketing initiatives.

Health insurance penetration in Kenya has remained low, exposing households to financial instability, especially when they experience an unexpected medical risk. The Ministry of Health has noted that 2.6 million Kenyan households are at risk of becoming impoverished because of healthcare expenses (David & Wanjala, 2019). This is especially concerning as 42% of households in the richest quintile have insurance to protect them, but in low-income households that number drops to 3% (World Bank, 2019).

Britam and M-TIBA are partnering to address this gap by offering simple and affordable health insurance that is easily accessible. To leverage the ever-increasing utilisation of mobile phones, the insurance solution is offered on M-TIBA’s mobile platform. Launched in 2020, hundreds of individuals are already insured, and this funding is expected to scale the product outreach even further. This product is mainly targeted at informal workers and small businesses. This collaborative work is supported by SCBF’s public-private development partnership and Cenfri.

“We are keen to support this partnership as we believe that it will further SCBF’s objective of enhancing the living standards and better response to adverse effects of health emergencies by building resilience in low-income populations.” – Sitara Merchant, CEO of SCBF.

“Britam is committed to developing and providing simple and affordable insurance solutions to traditionally underserved customers like small businesses and the informal economy. This funding support from SCBF will allow us, in partnership with M-TIBA, to increase penetration to this target population.” – Saurabh Sharma, Director of Emerging Consumers business at Britam and focusses on underserved customer segments.

“We are passionate about supporting the drive for universal health coverage in Africa and our M-TIBA platform has disrupted the health care space in Kenya. The funding from SCBF is a validation of our efforts and proves that this partnership has great potential in increasing access to quality health care.” – Moses Kuria, Managing Director, M-TIBA Kenya

If you would like more information about this project, please contact rose@cenfri.org

About CarePay
CarePay gives people power to care by connecting health payers, beneficiaries and healthcare providers through its mobile platform. In Kenya, M-TIBA is developed and managed by CarePay Limited. It is the preferred health financing technology platform for the government, retail and private health sector. It is a proven health payments integrator, revolutionizing the management of large-scale health schemes and supporting the drive for Universal Health Coverage.

About Britam
Britam is a leading diversified financial services group and is listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange. The group has presence in seven African countries in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan, Mozambique and Malawi. Britam offers a wide range of financial products and services which include Asset Management, Life Assurance, Retirement Planning, General Insurance, Health Insurance, Banking and Property. These financial solutions enable customers to create and protect their wealth and lives every step of the way.

About Swiss Capacity Building Facility (SCBF)
SCBF is a public-private development partnership (PPDP) that funds technical assistance (TA) for financial service providers to develop and upscale client-centred financial products, channels and services in developing and emerging countries. The financial products and services include savings, loans, insurance, digital financial services, or financial education, among others. Since inception in 2011, SCBF has funded over 160 projects across 47 countries. SCBF is dedicated to promoting responsible inclusive finance to meet the needs of low-income people, smallholder farmers and small-scale entrepreneurs, in particular women, to improve their livelihoods and to raise them out of poverty.