Start-up portrait: Qoala

April 23, 2024

Founded in 2019, Qoala is a multiline insurance distribution platform for agents in Indonesia & Thailand with a growing presence in Malaysia and Vietnam.

Tommy Martin   &    Harshet Lunani

    Co-Founder / COO          Founder / CEO        

Through its easy-to-use app, Qoala provides clients with access to gadgets, car, motorcycle, health, life, travel, and even tropical disease insurances. Thanks to partnership with insurers, Qoala offers competitive deals and discounts to clients as well as reactive multichannel customer services. Qoala relies on a network of over 60k agents that sold over 170 million policies since its inception. More recently it has also forayed into B2B2C Partnerships with digital partners and online marketplaces, now having over 60 partners. 

Despite being the fourth most populous country in the world, Indonesia has a relatively low insurance penetration rate. Qoala has been increasingly contributing to increasing insurance coverage in Indonesia and has processed over 115k claims in 2023 and has reached 9 million customers since inception. Qoala has been positioning itself as the solution of choice for both consumer-facing platforms and traditional agents and thus Qoala has been providing consumers across Southeast Asia with much-needed tools to address the persistent protection gap.

Since its Series B fundraise in 2022, Qoala has recorded a 2.5x growth in gross written premiums and currently processes up to 60% of total claims in-house, while delivering market-leading customer satisfaction. Notably, the impressive growth is predominantly attributed to their diversified partnership channels, which saw a significant expansion in business partners. The company’s profitability metrics have continued to trend upwards, outpacing GWP’s growth, highlighting its commitment to sustainable financial performance.

Within just four years, Qoala has demonstrably improved insurance accessibility. Its diverse product portfolio and motivated 60,000+ marketers network further contribute to safeguarding its customers’ financial well-being. Through nationwide presence and impactful initiatives, the platform simplifies insurance and empowers individuals, making a significant societal impact. The InsurTech’s emphasis on financial inclusion was recognised by CB Insights in 2023, when Qoala was named to its Fintech 100 and InsurTech 50 global list. The company’s mission of improving lives has gone beyond product innovation and distribution to being a strong advocate of financial literacy across various offline and online platforms.

BNP Paribas Cardif has been supporting Qoala since its Series B fundraising at the end of 2022 and continues through its C. Development fund along with Eurazeo in the recent Series C funding of Qoala whereby it raised US$47 million in March 2024. The Series C funding enables the company to expand its embedded insurance business (B2B2C) across Southeast Asia. The investment will also empower Qoala to intensify its tech-driven initiatives, seamlessly integrate artificial intelligence across all channels, and elevate the experience of customers, agents, and partners. Further, Qoala will leverage the funds to explore new products and channels for its agent platform, while accelerating growth by exploring strategic acquisitions and partnerships across all verticals. This multi-faceted approach is expected to strengthen Qoala’s leading market position in the region.

Post the closure of the fundraise, Harshet Lunani, Founder and CEO of Qoala said:

This investment will enable Qoala to refine and expand its established InsurTech platform, ensuring it remains at the forefront of technology and reduces time-to-market. Moreover, Qoala is dedicated to developing tools that support its insurance partners in improving their capabilities in underwriting, claims processing, and fraud detection, reinforcing its commitment to innovation and excellence in the industry. With the latest investment, Qoala’s total capital raised to date surpasses $130 million. Besides Payal Ventures & MUFG who came in the Series C round, Qoala has an impressive list of existing investors, including Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India), Kookmin Bank Investment, MDI Ventures, SeedPlus, Daiwa Capital, Indogen Capital, Mandiri Capital, and Salt Ventures.

BNP Paribas Cardif is proud to continue our support for Qoala as they continue to redefine industry standards and promote financial inclusion in the region.