NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Thursday, March 5, 2015

What do we remember about telecoms services last year? Well, for one thing Econet Wireless went all out with new products. The mobile network operator seemed to extend its hand to everything from money remittances to cars and water.

What ended the year though was the launch of EcoSure, the mobile insurance product that took the place of a similar but failed product Ecolife.

Two months later, we’ve been told by Econet that EcoSure has registered over 1 million users, an uptake that translates to 150,000 new users every week. It’s a faster uptake than what Ecolife was registering in its first half year back in 2011(1.6 million in 7 months). These are impressive numbers, so what’s the secret behind this?

It’s a no-brainer. Micro-insurance products that ride on the extensive reach of mobile telecoms are an awesome idea. EcoSure is solving a real problem, addressing a huge market and they have figured out dynamics like pricing.