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Joy Agwunobi
The Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) has inaugurated its 2025 Innovation Lab, a facility designed to accelerate digital solutions and reshape insurance practice in Nigeria.
Conceived as a hub for collaboration between insurers and startups, the Innovation Lab is structured as an intensive six-week accelerator programme, guiding innovators from concept to scale while developing solutions tailored to the Nigerian market.
Speaking at the launch, Kunle Ahmed, chairman of NIA, described the initiative as a turning point in repositioning the industry for a technology-driven future.
“We are not just opening a facility; we are igniting a movement rooted in innovation, driven by collaboration, and destined to transform the way we protect lives, assets, and futures,” Ahmed said.
He explained that the lab will function as an ecosystem where ideas are nurtured, technologies tested, and scalable solutions developed to address real market needs. With Nigeria’s youthful population at a median age of 18 years,Ahmed stressed the urgency for insurers to embrace digital platforms, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and data analytics to enhance efficiency, widen access, and strengthen trust.
“Innovation is not a luxury. It is a necessity. The future of our industry depends on agility, inclusiveness, and digital empowerment,” he added, while calling on regulators, technology partners, and NIA member companies to support the initiative.
Addressing different stakeholders, Ahmed noted, “To our innovators, this is your launchpad, your opportunity to shape the future. To our member companies, invest in this future. And to every Nigerian, believe in the power of innovation to protect assets and sustain standards of living.”
Babatunde Fajemirokun, chairman of the NIA Advisory Committee on Digital Innovation and IT, presented insights from a recent industry survey that informed the programme’s design. The survey engaged 45 senior leaders across life, general, and micro-insurance — including 22 chief executives, 10 chief technology officers, and 13 heads of strategy.
According to him, the findings revealed strong readiness to embrace innovation, with 87 percent of executives expressing willingness to collaborate on shared solutions, while 69 percent confirmed their readiness to commit resources in 2025. Customer acquisition, onboarding, KYC, and distribution ranked as top innovation priorities, while fraud management, eKYC, and claims exchange emerged as the most promising areas for industry-wide collaboration.
Providing further details, Damola Oloko, innovation lead for the Lab, explained that the six-week programme will expose selected startups and scale-ups to targeted support in developing and testing solutions in critical areas.
The process begins with an application window running from August 18 to September 28. Shortlisted applicants will then pitch their ideas before a jury comprising insurers, regulators, and industry representatives on October 7. The accelerator programme is scheduled to commence on October 13, with a Demo Day set for November 20, where participating startups will present their solutions and learnings.
Oloko noted that the Demo Day will also determine which solutions advance to the pilot phase, ensuring that only the most promising innovations move forward to implementation.
