Insurance start-up secures investment

Qoala, an insurance technology start-up, has secured USD13.5 million in its first round of financing from major investors Sequoia India, Flourish Ventures and Mirae Asset Venture Investment.

The Series-A investment round was led by Centauri Fund, a joint venture between South Korea’s Kookmin Bank and state-owned telecommunication major Telkom Indonesia, Qoala announced recently.

Existing investors also participated, including Bank Central Asia’s Central Capital Ventura, MDI Ventures, Surge, MassMutual Ventures Southeast Asia and Seedplus, according to a report in the Jakarta Post.

“Through this funding, we will invest further in technology, human resources and brand in support of our strategy to give the best service to customers, platform partners and insurance companies,” Qoala cofounder Tommy Martin stated.

The Jakarta-based company intends to double its number of employees to 300 next year, Tommy said. After its first year of operations, Qoala now handles two million policies per month, up from 7,000 policies in March 2019.

“Looking at the rapid growth of the middle class, the need for insurance and financial planning will also increase. Therefore, we are certain [that,] through relevant innovation, the insurance sector in Indonesia can develop rapidly,” said Kenneth Li, managing partner of Centauri Fund.