By Jubilee Group and FSD Africa have partnered with seven insurtech companies to develop and test affordable insurance products for underserved Kenyans, with pilot projects expected to begin in November.
The Jubilee FSD Africa partnership will initially target small and medium-sized enterprises, informal-sector workers, farmers and low-income households that have limited access to formal insurance.
The seven insurtech firms are Dukatech Solutions, Aura Insure Technologies, Inclusivity Solutions, DPE, Fiinovate, Agrails and Ibisa Network, FSD Africa said.
The companies were selected through a competitive process from the BimaLab Africa Insurtech Accelerator alumni network and will work with Jubilee through an eight-week product co-creation process before the pilots begin.
The initiative will test approaches to distributing low-cost insurance, protecting small businesses and connecting customers with health and wellness services.
The Jubilee FSD Africa partnership is focused on three areas: low-cost bundled and embedded insurance distribution, insurance solutions for SME ecosystems, and wellness and engagement models that connect customers to health and care services.
FSD Africa Principal for Sustainable Insurance Elias Omondi said developing more insurance products alone would not address the coverage gap if customers could not afford or access them.
“The challenge is not simply creating more insurance products,” Omondi said. He said products needed to reach people at prices they could afford and through channels they already used.
Kenya has relatively high levels of formal financial inclusion, but insurance coverage remains comparatively low. FSD Africa said insurance penetration in Kenya stood at 2.4% of gross domestic product in 2025, compared with a global average of 7%.
The organisation also said health-related out-of-pocket costs were estimated to push about 1.5 million Kenyans below the poverty line each year, highlighting the financial risks faced by households without adequate insurance protection.
SMEs are another focus of the initiative. FSD Africa said East Africa has more than 10 million SMEs, accounting for more than 70% of jobs, while insurance penetration among the businesses averages about 1%.
The low level of insurance coverage leaves businesses and households exposed to financial shocks arising from illness, extreme weather and other unexpected events, according to FSD Africa and other reports on the initiative.
At Jubilee, the programme will be coordinated through J-Hub, the group’s innovation and technology arm. J-Hub develops and tests digital and artificial intelligence-based solutions across Jubilee’s businesses.
Jubilee Group Deputy CEO Juan Cazcarra said the collaboration would give the insurer an opportunity to test different products and distribution models before determining which could be expanded.
“Working with these seven insurtechs gives us a practical way to test different products and distribution models with customers and learn what works,” Cazcarra said, according to The Star.
The latest initiative follows a broader agreement between Jubilee Group and FSD Africa announced in July. The organisations said the agreement was intended to expand access to insurance and investment solutions, initially in Kenya and potentially across Jubilee’s regional markets.
Under that wider collaboration, Jubilee agreed to work with BimaLab, FSD Africa’s insurtech accelerator, to develop technology-enabled solutions for underserved and low-income customers.
The July agreement identified embedded and bundled insurance distribution, SME ecosystems, and health, wellness and customer engagement as priority areas for collaboration.
The new programme moves that partnership into product development and testing by bringing Jubilee together with selected BimaLab alumni.
BimaLab said the partnership combines its pipeline of insurtech companies with Jubilee’s insurance distribution infrastructure, underwriting capacity and technology capabilities. The programme is designed to develop solutions that can be tested with customers and potentially taken to commercial scale.
The initial pilots will be anchored in Kenya, while successful solutions could eventually be introduced in other East African markets where Jubilee operates, according to FSD Africa and reports on the initiative.
The seven participating companies will therefore be expected to demonstrate not only whether their products can address specific insurance needs, but also whether those products can be distributed through channels that are accessible to customers who remain outside traditional insurance markets.
For Kenya’s insurance sector, the programme comes as insurers and financial technology companies seek new ways to reach customers through digital channels, embedded products and more targeted offerings.
The Jubilee FSD Africa partnership will provide a practical test of whether collaboration between an established insurer and technology-focused startups can expand access to insurance among groups that have historically been underserved.
FSD Africa said the pilots are expected to start in November, following the eight-week product co-creation phase.
