South African insurtech startup, Ctrl has raised $2.3 million from Naspers Foundry to help traditional brokers to digitise and optimise their business operations through Ctrl’s digital solution, according to media reports. This investment is a part of the Naspers’ R1.4 billion commitment towards tech startups after launching its investment vehicle Naspers Foundry, which is a Software-as-a-Service platform founded by Pieter Erasmus, Pieter Venter, and Francois Venter in 2017.
Naspers SA CEO Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa mentioned that Ctrl is a great example of how tech-driven companies can improve on their traditional business models.
Head of Naspers, Fabian Whate also mentioned that Ctrl is a “smart digital platform” that helps to unlock consumer choice resulting in competitive pricing. Naspers’ co-founder and CEO, Pieter Venter added that the company has considerable experience in the growth of tech startups.
Ctrl operates through a mobile app and acts as a digital insurance advisor through which policy seekers to tailor their specific needs for cover. The company uses an algorithm to match with the best-suited policies for them.
Venter told the media, “You can go to an old-school broker, who you need to meet face-to-face, answer all their underwriting questions, give them your information, wait a couple of days, and hopefully they come back with a number of quotes and possibly a recommendation. Your other option is going to a direct player, where you call up one of the call centres and try to get a quote from one of them through answering the same underwriting questions, a process that takes around 40 minutes, and at the end of that process, you only have one quote.”
Image credits- NS Insurance