Turaco promoted Cedrick Todwell to Chief Commercial Officer, Africa, on 1 October 2026, which puts one executive in charge of revenue, partnerships and country teams as the insurer enters more markets.
What changes at Turaco
Todwell joined Turaco in October 2024 as Director of Business Development. He built relationships with banks, microfinance institutions, fintech companies and telecom operators, mostly in East Africa. He now sets commercial strategy across the continent. His remit covers revenue, market share, partnerships, country teams, business units that pay their own way, and entry into new markets.
For a bank or telecom operator that sells Turaco cover, this means one named executive owns the commercial relationship across borders.
Who Todwell is and what he brings
Todwell spent four years at Pula, an agriculture insurer, and rose from Public Sector Sales Manager to Commercial Director. At Sistema.bio he served as Commercial Director from 2017 to 2020. His profile credits him with lifting revenue past KES 400 million (about USD 4 million) and building a team of more than 100 people. Earlier roles at Mobisol and Easy Taxi gave him experience in sales and partnerships.
He holds an MBA from Webster University and completed Frankfurt School training in climate risk insurance product development in 2023. These career figures come from his own profile, and Turaco has not published them.
How partners place insurance inside products customers already use
Turaco reports that it has reached more than eight million people. It sells through M-KOPA, Absa, ASA International, VisionFund, Opportunity Bank, Advans, Safaricom, Airtel, dfcu Bank, Moniepoint and One Acre Fund. Cover attaches to a loan, a phone or a mobile wallet, so the customer does not visit an insurance office.
The M-KOPA tie up shows the model at work. Turaco reported that its cover on M-KOPA smartphones reached more than one million customers in Kenya. The reason it works is stated in a Brookings analysis: poor consumers seldom seek insurance but accept it when it comes with a product they already use and trust.
Price decides whether a household keeps the cover. At the Kenyan launch in November 2024, Turaco said its products start at 100 shillings a month, which is KES 100 (about USD 0.77). In Uganda, cover starts below 1,000 shillings a month.
How AI changes the claims experience
Turaco applies AI to onboarding, customer contact, and the assessment and payment of claims. A claim is the moment a customer decides whether insurance was worth buying. Faster assessment means a policyholder waits less for a payout.
Chief Executive Ted Pantone said at the 2024 launch that telcos can activate policies instantly on USSD through Turaco’s API, and AI can process claims within seconds. capitalfm
Where Turaco operates and what it holds licences for
Turaco has strengthened its presence in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria and Ghana over two years. It has since entered Zambia and Tanzania and is pursuing Rwanda. It entered Asia through Pakistan in 2026.
The company holds underwriting licences in Kenya and Uganda and recently won a microinsurance underwriting licence in Nigeria. A licence lets Turaco issue policies and pay claims itself, so customers and partners deal with fewer parties. It targets launches in two more underwriting markets by the end of 2026, subject to regulatory approval.
Turaco also drew outside recognition this year:
- In June 2026, Africa Re named it Innovation of the Year at the African Insurance Awards in Cairo, citing its embedded insurance model and the ASA LifeCare product.
- The Financial Times ranked it 29th in Africa and second among Kenyan companies in its Africa’s Fastest Growing Companies 2026 list.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| People reached | More than 8 million |
| Monthly price in Kenya | From KES 100 (USD 0.77) |
| Africa’s Fastest Growing Companies 2026 rank | 29th in Africa, 2nd in Kenya |
| Underwriting licences held | Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria |
| Underwriting launches targeted by end 2026 | 2 more markets |
| Client target for 2028 in a US DFC loan filing | 4.4 million |
| Proposed DFC loan | About KES 900 million (USD 7 million) |
| Long term goal | 1 billion people insured |
The 2028 target and the loan come from a public information summary for a proposed USD 7 million loan from the US International Development Finance Corporation. The filing describes a proposal, so treat the loan as unconfirmed.
What Todwell and Turaco say the job is
Todwell framed the role around customer trust. His statement in the release said:
“For too long, many Africans have viewed insurance as complicated, expensive or unreliable.”
He said success will be measured by the families protected, not only by markets entered or revenue earned. Pantone said the promotion reflects Todwell’s contribution to commercial growth, his partnership work and his focus on developing his teams.
For employees, a Chief Commercial Officer who owns country teams signals closer commercial targets and clearer lines of reporting.
What to watch next
Watch for regulatory decisions on Turaco’s two additional underwriting markets, due by 31 December 2026. Approval would extend licensed operations beyond Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria.
Then look for the Rwanda launch and a confirmed DFC loan, which would test the 2028 target of 4.4 million clients.
