African insurtech aYo Holdings has made two new C-suite appointments as it looks to accelerate its ambitious growth plans across the continent and into the South African market.

The company has named Ivan Welch as its new chief customer acquisition officer and Miles Bloemstein as its chief operating officer.

Welch, who has been with aYo for four years, will be responsible for driving new customer acquisition through various distribution channels, with a specific focus on digital marketing and sales. His position will also include a commercial legal remit and administrative oversight, and support of the company’s subsidiary operations.

Bloemstein joined aYo in July 2021. He has more than 20 years’ experience in the insurance industry, specifically in IT operations and related functions. His new position will include him overseeing the day-to-day operations of the business, working closely with executive and product teams to grow the platform and its system and channel capabilities.

aYo group CEO Marius Botha says Welch and Bloemstein’s expertise are key to the company’s drive to enable the distribution of affordable financial services products to people who have never had the opportunity to engage in financial services before.

aYo launched in January 2017 in Uganda and has since expanded its operations across Ghana, Zambia, Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon, with plans to launch operations in Nigeria and South Africa imminent.