Nigerian insure-fintech Skydd targets B2B embedded insurance
Nigerian protection-tech startup Skydd, already generating positive EBITDA, is pivoting to a business-to-business infrastructure model to let financial institutions embed insurance into their products.
Skydd has named Chituru Nsirim and Anu Oyeleye to lead its transition from a direct-to-consumer platform to an embedded finance infrastructure provider. Nsirim will oversee business development and operations, while Oyeleye takes charge of product and marketing. Both executives bring over a decade of experience spanning banking, insurance, and fintech to the Nigerian company.
The leadership appointments coincide with a strategic shift aimed at scaling distribution. Historically, insurance in Nigeria has been treated as a standalone, often mandated purchase disconnected from everyday financial services. Skydd is attempting to change this by positioning protection as a foundational element of personal finance, paired natively with savings, payments, and digital wallets.
To accelerate this, the company is opening its infrastructure to third-party businesses. Rather than solely acquiring users directly, Skydd now wants banks, fintechs, employers, and merchants to embed its protection products into their own applications. This pivot toward a business-to-business model represents an effort to reduce customer acquisition costs and expand beyond its current base of more than 20,000 active customers.
For investors monitoring the African tech sector, Skydd's underlying financial metrics present a notable data point. The startup is currently operating with positive EBITDA and positive cash flows. Achieving profitability at this stage of growth remains relatively uncommon among venture-backed startups in the region. This financial footing provides a degree of insulation as the company undertakes the capital-intensive process of building enterprise-grade APIs and integrations.
Nsirim, a founding executive, has been responsible for the commercial strategy and operational foundations that contributed to this early profitability. Oyeleye, a former founder who previously led product teams at high-growth Nigerian technology firms, will be tasked with translating that B2B vision into usable tools for developers and enterprise clients.
While Skydd's current operations are concentrated in Nigeria, the long-term objective is to power embedded protection infrastructure across the African continent. The viability of this continental ambition will largely depend on the new leadership team's ability to convert local enterprise partnerships into a scalable, recurring revenue network.
