Kenyan insurtech Lami's announced Bluewave acquisition never closed, TechCrunch found

Kenyan insurtech with an end-to-end digital insurance platform and an API for businesses to create tailored insurance

Buying Bluewave would give Lami a micro-insurance platform and the reach to scale its B2B2C insurance offering into new African markets

$3.7 million seed extension led by Harlem Capital

In February 2022 Lami Technologies, founded in 2018 by CEO Jihan Abass, announced it was acquiring Bluewave, an insurance startup launched in 2016 with a platform for micro-insurance via USSD, SMS, WhatsApp chatbots and web apps. Abass said Lami would integrate Bluewave's platform and use its reach to expand into Malawi and the DRC.

TechCrunch learned that only a two-year strategic partnership agreement was in place when Lami went public. Bluewave founder Adelaide Odhiambo, who joined Lami as head of partnerships, said groundwork for an acquisition was to follow Lami's fundraise, which closed as a $3.7M seed extension led by Harlem Capital. She claimed the terms, including the acquisition cost, began changing, and she walked away in August 2022. Bluewave had licensed its tech to Lami and onboarded partners and employees.

On 7 December 2023 TechCrunch reported the deal had not happened. Odhiambo said the two could not agree commercial terms and that the partnership would end in January 2024. Bluewave was relaunching with partnerships with aggregators including mobile network operators and banks in East and Southern Africa. Lami declined to comment.

Only a two-year partnership, not an acquisition agreement, existed when the deal was announced

Bluewave's founder said the terms, including the price, started changing after Lami's fundraise

The two sides could not agree commercial terms for an acquisition

Odhiambo kept the partnership running to avoid jeopardising the relationship

An acquisition announced before terms are signed is only a partnership in practice; if the price can change after the fundraise, the announcement can create expectations the deal cannot meet.

As of 2023-12-07, the Bluewave acquisition had not happened, the partnership was due to end in January 2024, and Bluewave was relaunching independently; Lami declined to comment.