South African startup Root Platform, the low-code, API-first, end-to-end insurance technology platform provider, has raised US$1.5 million in funding to accelerate its expansion plans.
Founded in 2016, Root is an end-to-end insurance platform that helps companies build, sell and manage digital insurance products in Africa, the UK and Europe. The startup packages the “hard things” in insurance behind easy-to-use APIs, allowing any company to build and deploy new insurance products themselves.
Root first raised an external round of funding from investors in 2021, and one of those investors, South Africa-based Invenfin, the venture and growth capital arm of Remgro, has now invested a further US$1.5 million. The company will use the funding to accelerate its plans to expand in the UK and Europe.
“We’ve built a trusted partnership with Invenfin since they invested in our business two years ago, and I’m delighted that they see further potential in our growth strategy and want to continue to invest in our future as we scale up internationally,” said Louw Hopley, co-founder at Root.
“We want to continue to expand in the UK while also making strides into the rest of Europe, and this growth capital from Invenfin enables us to do just that. The time is right for us, as lots of insurers are realising that innovative partner insurance channels such as embedded insurance are essential, and they want to invest in the robust, API-first technology they need to get to market quickly and confidently. We’re excited about what is to come over the next few years for our business.”
Theo van den Berg, investment executive at Invenfin, said Root was a great example of the type of company that Invenfin looked to invest in – a strong team building a world-beating product that’s winning in its South African home market and has clear potential globally.
“We believe in Root’s vision that the future of insurance is embedded, enabling companies to provide much more accessible, contextual and affordable insurance to consumers. We’re excited to back Root again following our first investment in 2021, as it accelerates its growth in the UK and beyond,” he said.
