The Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) has unveiled its 2025 Innovation Lab, a facility designed to accelerate digital solutions and reshape insurance practice in the country.
Conceived as an intensive six-week accelerator, the lab is expected to serve as a hub where insurers and startups can bring new ideas to life, from concept through to scale, in a bid to build solutions that resonate with the realities of Nigeria’s insurance market.
At the launch in Lagos, NIA Chairman, Mr. Kunle Ahmed, described the project as more than just a facility. He said it represents a movement towards innovation and collaboration that would transform how insurers protect lives, assets, and livelihoods in Nigeria.
Register for Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 19 (Feb 9 – May 2, 2026): big discounts for early bird.
Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass opens registrations.
Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and co-invest in great global startups.
Register for Tekedia AI Lab: From Technical Design to Deployment (next edition begins Jan 24 2026).
“This is a new phase in repositioning the industry for a technology-driven future. Today, 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 declared.
Ahmed reminded the audience that at his inauguration in October 2024, he pledged to introduce an innovation challenge that would encourage creative solutions to advance the sector. The launch of the lab, he noted, was the fulfillment of that commitment.
Digital tools as the future of insurance
The NIA Chairman highlighted that Nigeria’s demographic structure—with a median age of 18 years—makes digital adoption a matter of survival for insurers. He argued that only by embracing platforms such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, data analytics, and other emerging tools can the industry improve efficiency, expand access, and rebuild trust among Nigerians who remain skeptical about insurance.
“Innovation is not a luxury. It is a necessity. The future of our industry depends on agility, inclusiveness, and digital empowerment,” Ahmed stressed, calling on regulators, technology firms, and insurance companies to back the initiative.
He urged insurers to invest in the future of the sector, innovators to seize the opportunity to test their solutions, and Nigerians at large to believe in the transformative power of innovation to secure assets and sustain standards of living.
Survey reveals industry priorities
To ensure the lab addresses real challenges, the NIA conducted a survey among 45 senior leaders drawn from across the industry, including 22 CEOs, 10 Chief Technology Officers, and 13 strategy heads in life, general, and micro-insurance.
Presenting the findings, Mr. Babatunde Fajemirokun, Chairman of the NIA Advisory Committee on Digital Innovation and IT, said the data revealed an industry eager for change.
According to him, 87 percent of executives expressed willingness to collaborate on shared solutions, while 69 percent confirmed readiness to commit resources in 2025.
“Customer experience, acquisition, KYC, and distribution rank as the top priorities for innovation. Fraud management, eKYC, and claims exchange also emerged as the most promising areas for industry-wide collaboration,” he explained.
Programme structure and timelines
Unveiling the structure of the Innovation Lab, the NIA’s Innovation Lead, Mr. Damola Oloko, explained that selected startups and scale-ups will go through a rigorous six-week accelerator programme designed to sharpen their solutions and prepare them for scale.
A pitch day is scheduled for October 7, during which shortlisted applicants will present to a jury made up of insurance companies, regulators, and industry representatives. From this process, the final five startups will be selected.
The programme will then kick off on October 13, with demo day slated for November 20. On that day, startups will present their innovations, share learnings from the programme, and showcase solutions that could be taken forward into pilot phases with the industry.
Applications opened on August 18 and will close on September 28, giving individuals and teams a six-week window to put forward their ideas.
Oloko emphasized that the lab is not just about experimentation but about scaling meaningful solutions that can help the Nigerian insurance sector overcome long-standing challenges such as low penetration, weak claims processes, and widespread mistrust among policyholders.
Context: a struggling sector in need of innovation
Insurance penetration in Nigeria remains less than 2 percent, one of the lowest in Africa, despite the country’s vast population and growing economy. For years, the industry has struggled with public apathy, inadequate distribution channels, and a lack of trust driven by slow claims settlement.
Analysts have long argued that technology holds the key to breaking these barriers, particularly through digital onboarding, micro-insurance models, and blockchain-enabled claims management. The NIA’s Innovation Lab appears to be an attempt to bridge this gap by giving startups and insurers the platform to co-create solutions.
If successful, the lab could mark a turning point for the sector, opening doors for young innovators while giving insurers a chance to rebuild confidence in the industry.