Bima, a Sweden-based company that provides insurance cover through mobile devices in emerging markets, has secured $22m in a venture round supported by telecommunications and media company Millicom.
Millicom invested in the round together with Bima’s other two existing shareholders, Kinnevik and LeapFrog Investments. Bima has not disclosed how much it raised from the three previously, but reports in May 2013 stated that Leapfrog and Kinnevik had invested a combined $7.1m in the company.
Founded in 2010, Bima runs a service that connects mobile operators and insurance companies, enabling them to offer life, health and accident insurance through mobile devices, and one of its key partners is Millicom’s African subsidiary, Tigo. The funds will enable it to expand into new markets in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
“African, Asian and Latin American economies have been transformed over the past decade by soaring mobile usage and the birth of mobile money,” said Bima CEO Gustaf Agartson.
“Yet, the mobile revolution for financial services in these markets is still at the start of its growth curve, and we are going to start to see insurance offerings enter the mainstream of the mobile telecommunications industry. Bima’s new capital injection, and the distinctive expertise of our shareholders, will enable us to innovate, scale, and retain our place at the forefront of this movement for years to come.”