Mobilife

Mobilife operates as a financial technology firm within the life insurance sector, with a primary focus on making insurance products more accessible and affordable for families across Africa. Founded in 2015 by Frank Schutte and Shadrack Sivhugwana, the company is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. The founders brought extensive experience in the long-term insurance industry from their work in both South Africa and Nigeria, identifying a significant market gap for practical, mobile-first insurance solutions.

The company's business model is twofold. Primarily, Mobilife functions as an internet-first life insurer, directly offering its products to consumers. Secondly, it operates on a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, licensing its proprietary, cloud-hosted, and fully digital policy administration system, "Mobility," to established banks and insurance companies across the continent. This dual approach allows Mobilife to address the market directly while also enabling legacy institutions to modernize their own offerings.

Mobilife's direct-to-consumer product suite is designed to address the specific needs of underserved populations. A key offering is "FoodSurance," a life cover that provides beneficiaries with weekly grocery vouchers for up to five years following the policyholder's death, delivered via SMS and redeemable at major supermarket chains. This product directly addresses the immediate need for sustenance after the loss of a breadwinner. Another core product is a flexible Funeral Plan. Recognizing that customers with variable incomes may struggle with consistent premium payments, Mobilife developed a "Never-Lapse" feature. This allows a policy to remain active even if payments are missed; instead of lapsing, the payout amount is adjusted based on the premiums paid, ensuring families always receive some level of support. In a recent collaboration that won an innovation award, Mobilife partnered with Standard Bank Insurance Brokers to enhance this flexibility, allowing for the temporary reduction and subsequent restoration of policy benefits in line with missed and resumed payments.

The company leverages South Africa's high mobile phone penetration to deliver its services entirely through mobile channels, simplifying access and reducing overheads. After initially facing challenges in building trust with a purely digital model, the company refined its strategy to incorporate a balance of digital efficiency and human interaction through sales agents to improve customer acquisition and onboarding. The company has received investment from Catalyst Fund, which provided grant capital and venture-building support to help refine Mobilife's messaging and sales processes. Keywords: Insurtech, life insurance, financial technology, South Africa, mobile insurance, micro-insurance, SaaS, policy administration system, funeral cover, FoodSurance, digital insurance, financial inclusion, Africa insurance, flexible premiums, low-income insurance, mobile financial services, insure-tech, direct-to-consumer insurance, B2B insurance technology, insurance innovation