Pineapple has closed their Series A round at R80m in total. Notable investors on the ticket are Lireas Holdings, the ASISA ESD Fund, E4E, Vunani Capital and the Old Mutual Enterprise & Supplier Development Fund.
Pineapple is an insurtech startup that has captured the hearts and minds of many South Africans. After launching in 2018, the company has won many awards locally and internationally, including MTN Consumer App of the Year, Stanford startup award, and was the first Insurtech accepted into Google’s Launchpad Accelerator Programme.
Pineapple launched into the South African market in mid 2018 with the goal of solving the trust issue in insurance. Co-founder Marnus van Heerden says: “Pineapple is on a journey to improve the trust between insurer and insured, by providing superior customer experience backed by cutting edge technology and an innovative model. We operate off a fixed fee and unused premiums are returned to members.”
With Pineapple users can insure thier car or belongings in under 90 seconds via the app or website. The insurance policies are underwritten by Old Mutual Insure, and founding innovation partner Hannover-Re, continues as reinsurer and strategic partner to Pineapple.
Co- founder Ndabenhle Ngulube attributes the success of the round to the growth the company has seen this year.
Another co-founder, Sizwe Ndlovu, notes that the funds will be used for the expansion of the South African business as well as growing overseas partnerships including the partnership with Travelers insurance in the US.