The National Insurance Commission of Ghana (NIC) has launched a programme named the Innolab Insurtech Accelerator Programme to help the Commission come out with innovative insurance products and services as part of efforts to deepen insurance penetration in the country.

The Innolab Accelerator Programme which is being financed by the GIZ, FDSAfrica, and UKaid seeks to stimulate innovative digital insurance product solutions to drive inclusive insurance for Micro and Small Medium Enterprises and the general public.

Ten (10) insurance technology companies are participating in the programme. As part of the programme lineup, three of the 10 companies which will emerge as winners of the programme would be supported with 20,000 euros each to develop their innovative solutions into sustainable insurance products and services to drive Ghana’s Insurance industry forward. Meanwhile, the start-up companies participating in the programme include Insurerity Digital, BestQuote Limited, Democrance, BeNew Insurance, Full Cycle Consult, Perigee Insights Limited, FigTech Limited, LbH, and Ibiza Network.

Mr Michael Kofi Andoh, the Deputy Commissioner of Insurance, speaking at the programme commended the partners for championing “this great partnership to deploy innovation to find solutions to the challenges of the Ghanaian insurance industry.”

The Programme is An Exciting Space for Collaboration

The Deputy Commissioner of Insurance noted that the Accelerator programme is always an exciting space for collaborations, creativity and partnerships. He charged the start-ups to demonstrate their products and services.

“For the industry players, this Innolab Insurtech Accelerator Programme is an enabler for potential partnerships between your good self and this cohort of Insurtechs, to leverage their innovative solutions to support your businesses processes.”

Mr Andoh averred that globally, there is a growing shift in the way insurance business is done, particularly risk transfer, insurance distribution, and customer experience, stressing that “Harnessing innovation continues to be an essential element of the strategic policy objective of National Insurance Commission.”

Mr Sampson Akligoh, the Director of the Financial Services Division of the Ministry of Finance, in his keynote address asserted that the programme is timely, considering the fact that the global economy is fast changing. He added that the programme is apt and fits well into the government’s agenda for digitalisation.

Mr Akligoh, moreover, stated that the government has formulated the National Financial Inclusion and Development Strategy and complemented it with the Digital Financial Services policy and a digital payment roadmap to serve as a blueprint for attaining a digitised society, stressing that the insurance industry is one of the key pillars of the project.

The Head of Programme for Sustainable Economic Development at GIZ, Detlev Axel Jahn, stated that the German Federal Government is currently operating in over 120 countries. He noted that in Ghana, through the Programme for Sustainable Economic Development, the German government supported the Microfinance and Insurance sectors to promote stability and improve access to finance for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSMEs).

Detlev Axel Jahn further intimated that through the GIZ-implemented Financial Systems Development, the German Development Cooperation is bent on implementing and facilitating the use of technology and innovation to promote financial inclusion based on the principle of equity.