Insurance Has a Distribution Problem, Not an Awareness Problem
For years, insurance companies have tried to increase adoption through advertising, digital platforms, and awareness campaigns. Yet insurance penetration across many African markets remains low compared to banking and mobile payments.
Myka's approach starts with a different assumption. Instead of asking people to actively seek insurance products, the company wants to place insurance where purchasing decisions already happen. That could mean offering vehicle insurance through car dealers, health insurance through pharmacies, or travel insurance through travel agents. The strategy draws inspiration from agency banking, which expanded financial access by taking services closer to customers rather than waiting for customers to visit bank branches.
Fintech Solved Access. Insurance Never Did
One reason fintech grew so quickly is that companies solved a distribution challenge. Agency banking networks, mobile money agents, and merchant networks brought financial services into neighbourhoods, markets, and rural communities.
Insurance largely missed that transformation. In many cases, consumers still encounter insurance products through formal channels that require deliberate effort to access. A person buying a car may leave the dealership without insurance. A traveller may book a trip without protection. The product exists, but the distribution channel is disconnected from the purchasing moment.
This is the gap Myka is attempting to address through community-based referrals and embedded distribution partnerships.
The Hard Part Is Building Trust, Not Technology
Insurance companies often focus on selling policies, but customer trust is usually built during claims processing.
A customer whose damaged phone is repaired quickly is more likely to trust insurance than someone who faces weeks of paperwork and uncertainty. Recognising this, Myka is investing in repair networks, identity verification systems, and claims infrastructure designed to reduce friction after a claim is filed.
The challenge is significant because many consumers across Africa have limited experience with insurance. One bad claims experience can discourage not only an individual customer but also an entire community that relies heavily on word-of-mouth recommendations.
Why Investors Are Paying Attention
The insurance opportunity itself is not new. What is attracting attention is the possibility of using proven distribution models from fintech to reach insurance customers more efficiently.
Investors have already seen how agency banking transformed financial inclusion by leveraging local networks and trusted intermediaries. Myka's model applies a similar logic to insurance, using community relationships rather than relying entirely on digital channels.
The bet is that insurance adoption may grow faster when products are introduced by people consumers already trust rather than through standalone apps or traditional marketing campaigns.
Forward-Looking Implications for Africa’s Insurance Market
Myka’s strategy reflects a broader lesson emerging across African fintech and insurtech: adoption often depends more on distribution than product design.
Moving forward, the companies that succeed in insurance may not be those that build the most sophisticated platforms. They may be the ones that place insurance products directly inside everyday commercial activities where customers are already making financial decisions.
If that happens, insurance could follow a path similar to agency banking, where growth was driven less by awareness campaigns and more by building trusted networks that made services accessible at scale.
