A prime example of a digitally savvy WiT cohort member is Bismart Insurance, a web insurance aggregator based in Kenya. Channelling a solution-oriented shift to digital, Bismart Insurance was set up to address and resolve key pain points customers faced when purchasing insurance, including a lack of disclosure of essential information and the absence of a consolidated platform for insurance products. Coupled with its participation in the first WiT Kenya cohort and vision to expand into the digital insurance market, Bismart Insurance efficiently scaled its operations and saw over 100 purchasers by the end of 2017.

From a larger context, Eunice Maina, the CEO of Bismart Insurance in Kenya, associated the low penetration of insurance in the east African country to the traditional nature of insurance practiced in Kenya.  She asserted that the largest economy in east Africa practices informal insurance resulting in the low penetration of the market.“Kenya practices informal insurance in the form of crowdfunding and that has affected the penetration rate,” she said. However, Maina is of the view that rather than adopting the European pattern, traditional insurance should be developed without having to deviate from the African model. She, therefore, solicited for the use of African perspective in developing insurance in the region as techniques to tackle cultural and religious barriers in the insurance industry.

Kenya BismartEfficiency & Fraud Management

In addition to this, motor insurance providers have had to contend with cases of double insurance, fake insurance certificates, and stolen insurance certificates. Research carried out by Bismart showed that 12% of insurance policies do not exist in the underwriters’ databases even though the motor vehicle owners have paid for their premiums. 22% of the motor vehicle insurance policies surveyed cannot be validated.

The Kenyan insure-tech company, Bismart, has unveiled an online e-commerce platform that will enable insurance companies, brokers, agents to connect with their customers end to end.Dubbed Pamsmart, the cloud-based platform is tailored to cut down the costs of developing new technologies for insurance players by 90%.

GreenTec, headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, will invest an undisclosed amount of money in Bismart to enable the company upscale its digital and online platforms to connect customers to insurance and investments solutions available in the African market.The agreement, announced in Frankfurt, will see Bismart benefit from GreenTec’s expertise and experience in funding start-ups in Africa through capacity building, and process optimization.GreenTec will also avail to the Kenyan company a team of international experts to help implement adapted latest technology to the model in order to extend its local value chain and have more impact.

Created in 2017, Bismart is a leading Kenyan insurance aggregator, leveraging on digital platforms and technologies to connect customers to the best insurance and investments solutions available in the market. It offers clients education and the ability to compare and buy premier insurance and investment solutions at the convenience of their palms. Bismart secured incubation from Standard Chartered and Strathmore University’s Women in Tech Programme.

Bismart is a Kenya-based insurance aggregator, allowing its users to compare and buy various insurance products from multiple companies. The business was started in 2017. Founder Eunice Maina answers our questions.1. Give us your elevator pitch.Bismart is an online insurance marketplace where insurance firms list their products and customers are able to compare the policies. We recently introduced a feature that allows our users to compare policies based on other customers’ reviews – similar to what hotel booking platforms offer. We bring much-needed transparency to the insurance industry, which increases insurance literacy and awareness, especially for the youth. The insurance companies pay us a commission for every customer who buys through the Bismart platform.

Bismart Insurance – VC4A Original: vc4a.com Insurance Penetration in Kenya is at 2.7% due Lack of education/Knowledge, Mistrust, inaffordability and lack of transparency.

At Bismart platform customers are able to reveiw and rate their insurance providers based on their experience, this forces insurance players to compete in giving our customers the best customer experience.We enable customers to compare insurance policies from muiltiple providers not just based on price but based on benefits, exclusions and other customers reviews.

South Africa“South Africa was an early adopter of QR code-based payments,” said Gabriel Swanepoel, vice president of business integration at Mastercard Southern Africa. “The first QR code app was introduced by SnapScan, a subsidiary of Standard Bank, in 2013.”QR codes are a prevalent method of payment in South Africa.

Consumers can download the MasterPass app from their app store, register, and load their credit, debit or cheque cards from any bank into the digital wallet. To pay, Masterpass users simply need to scan a QR code, or SnapCode, displayed at point of sale or online at a wide range of SnapScan merchants including coffee shops, professionals like doctors and market vendors. They then enter the payment amount into their Masterpass app and confirm the transaction with their ATM pin code or a one-time pin code sent to their mobile phones.

Fast paymentsViews like these account for the arrival of a number of different mobile payments options. SnapScan has garnered the most attention, but the sector also includes the likes of FlickPay, Zapper and GustPay.

In the first case, a merchant is given a designated QR code by their acquirer that is linked to their bank account in the backend. Customers must scan the QR code using the camera on their smart device and then enter the amount to be paid and their individual PIN in order to complete the transaction. An example of this method is SnapScan.

Arguably the bank’s most well-known fintech acquisition in recent years is the QR code payment app SnapScan. In 2016 the bank acquired a majority share of Firepay, the company behind Snapscan, for an undisclosed stake.Firepay, which was co-founded in 2013 through startup incubator FireID by Kobus Ehlers and Malan and Philip Joubert among others, launched the SnapScan app in partnership with Standard Bank in 2014.

ut the boxSnapScan is providing a uniquely digital solution, where you can download as many SnapCodes as you like from the Merchant Portal and display these anywhere you want to accept contactless mobile payments. You also have the option to purchase a SnapScan Starter Kit when you successfully sign up your business. This includes a printed SnapCode in a stand, a double-sided sticker, and info flyers for first time app users. Display your SnapCode anywhere you want to accept mobile payments. You'll automatically receive confirmation of payment via SMS.

SnapScan combines the agility and speed of a small local startup with the industry knowledge and experience of Standard Bank, Africa’s biggest bank. As a team, we love solving difficult problems, especially when it comes to making fast, easy mobile payments possible! SnapScan is a product of FireID Payments, part of the FireID group, a set of local startups building elegant solutions to a wide range of difficult and interesting problems.

QR code payment functionality in its new app, which it claims is the only ‘Scan to Pay’ offering from a South African bank that can be used across all major QR code-based payment providers including SnapScan and Zapper.

SnapScan users can not pay using the app at FNB Speedpoints, said SnapScan CEO Chris Zietsman."The SnapScan app can scan and pay some non-SnapScan generated QR codes. Before these are enabled, we carefully assess the security, user experience and tech stability of these solutions based on specific criteria to ensure the seamless experience our customers have come to appreciate. "Although SnapScan app users cannot currently scan FNB Speedpoint devices, they can already pay at a wide range of Masterpass enabled businesses such as Engen convenience stores, Payfast ecommerce merchants, and Takealot."SnapScan will be adding to that list in coming months, Zietsman said.

QR code – Support for QR code payments from all major platforms, including Snapscan and Zapper.