The startup of the insurtech sector Fuse based in Indonesia raised $25 million in a round of Serie B, to expand its presence in Thailand and Vietnam. The startup has closed three rounds of financing from the Serie B, which brings the total raised to more than 70 million.
The capital is led by a fintech fund with participation from existing investors East Ventures, GGV Capital, eWTP and Emtek.
Launched in 2017, Fuse connects insurance companies with multiple distribution channels and partners to make insurance services accessible and affordable through its technology. Fuse uses mobile applications to offer an agent-centric service, B2A (Business to Agent / Broker). fuse pro allows agents and brokers to maximize the offer to their clients. The startup also has a B2C and B2B2C (financial and microinsurance institution), which offers small-sized digital insurance products, profitably distributing insurance products to end customers by partnering with partners in e-commerce channels such as Tokopedia.
Digitally savvy middle-class customers are rapidly growing in Southeast Asia, which is expected to be 350 million consumers with 300 billion in disposable income. This makes the region an attractive market for insurtech companies. The pandemic accelerated the digital transformation in the insurance industry, one of the most conservative sectors. Fuse plans to take advantage of the huge opportunity in the insurance industry to expand into other countries in Southeast Asia, where more than 70 percent of the population is connected to the Internet. On the other hand, there is not much competition in the region in this sector and with these digital characteristics.
“We deeply believe that the digital insurance transformation can help more people get protection and hopefully the insurance penetration rate can increase substantially in the coming years in Indonesia and Southeast Asia,” said Andy Yeung, executive director of Fuse.
The company has more than 460 employees, with branches in Indonesia, Vietnam and China. Fuse states that it currently has over 60.000 salespeople or agents using the mobile app fuse pro. More than 40 insurance companies, including general and life insurance companies, use the platform of Fuse to offer more than 300 insurance products for members or end customers.
“We are very happy to be recognized by a leading global fintech fund that had researched most of the insurtech startups in Southeast Asia and decided to invest in Fuse. We are very excited to gain access to and insights from other fintech and insurtech portfolio companies in this global network. Strong interest from global investors reconfirms our current ecosystem approach: using the technology platform of Fuse to make insurance more accessible to the underpenetrated population of Southeast Asia,” Yeong said.
