Sachet-sized insurance offered to MSMEs

Singapore-based firm yufin has teamed up with Gigacover to provide digital insurance to customers.

yufin is a merchant platform that enables underserved micro and small enterprises in emerging markets to access the digital economy.

Through the partnership with Gigacover, small businesses in the Philippines can access insurance products tailored to their needs. Clients are able to access business protection and other customized products, such as family and health insurance, through a mobile application.

“Small businesses are the lifeblood of Southeast Asian economies and communities but many are underserved,” said Shubhrendu Khoche, chief strategy and product officer of yufin.

“Our partnership with Gigacover helps us bring insurance to last-mile merchants to give them peace of mind and to help them offer their customers much-needed access to insurance protection,” Khoche said.

Chesca Figueroa, Gigacover country manager in the Philippines, said that through their microinsurance products, the underserved and underbanked are able to protect their income from unprecedented events.

The firms said that in the Philippines, the number of micro and small enterprises is estimated at more than a million. Less than 20 percent of these businesses have bank accounts but more than 80 percent have access to smartphones, they said.

“With partnerships such as ours with Gigacover, much-needed financial services products, like insurance protection can also be sacheted to make them accessible and affordable,” said Liz Servañez, head of business development and partnerships at yufin.