Beyond the Accelerator Alumni Returnable Grant Programme.
Graduating from an accelerator is a milestone, not a destination. Across the 6 cohorts of the BimaLab Africa Insurtech Accelerator Programme, we have watched founders leave the programme with sharper propositions, early traction and genuine momentum and then meet the hardest stretch of the journey: the gap between graduation and raising commercial capital.
It is rarely one large obstacle. More often it is a single, specific blockage: a memorandum of understanding with an insurer that has never converted into a contract, a distribution partnership signed but not yet generating commercial traction, or a regulatory hurdle standing between a finished product and its launch. Investors see these gaps clearly and say so. Founders usually know exactly what is holding them back. What they lack is the focused, structured support to close it.
The BimaLab Africa Alumni Returnable Grant Programme has been set up to close that gap. An initiative by BimaLab Africa and implemented by 3IF Ventures, the programme provides returnable grant support through a dedicated Technical Assistance (TA) Facility, focused on insurance partnerships acceleration, investment readiness and scale-up. Applications for the first window are now open to all BimaLab Africa alumni, with a deadline of Friday, 11th September 2026.
Why a returnable grant
A returnable grant sits deliberately between a conventional grant and an investment. It carries the discipline of commercial capital, defined milestones, tracked progress and repayment obligations where they apply, without the dilution or debt burden that early-stage insurtechs can rarely absorb. That discipline is the point. The programme is designed to prepare ventures for commercial capital, so the support itself behaves like commercial capital. The objective is concrete: to help selected startups develop commercial partnerships with insurers and reinsurers, strengthen their business and operating models, and prepare for external investment. The outcome we are working towards is ventures that are demonstrably better positioned to raise capital and scale solutions that narrow Africa’s insurance protection gap.
How the support works
Every intervention begins with a structured diagnostic between the founder and the 3IF Ventures TA Manager, which surfaces the critical gaps preventing the business from raising commercial capital and scaling. From that diagnostic, a tailored milestone plan is agreed and signed, and funding and support are released against those milestones, with progress tracked throughout. Interventions will run over six to nine months, within a full 18-month engagement cycle covering diagnostic, delivery and post-TA tracking, including repayment obligations where they apply.
- You are a graduate of any cohort of the FSD Africa BimaLab Africa Insurtech Accelerator Programme.
- You operate an incorporated business with a live insurance or insurance-enabling proposition. Pure payments, lending or unrelated fintech propositions with no insurance offering do not qualify.
- You have a functioning team with a founder plus at least one other team member and are operating in, or primarily serving, an African market.
- You have moved past the pure MVP stage: recurring revenue, at least one paid commercial pilot, or documented early traction with at least one named insurance partner
- You have started fundraising: a fundraising strategy is in place, a data room is set up, you have a clear view on valuation, and you have documented outreach to at least three potential investors or funding providers.
- You are willing to engage actively over the full 18-month cycle covering diagnostic, delivery and post-TA tracking, including repayment obligations where they apply.
What a strong Application looks like
Eligibility gets you to the door; the quality of your self-diagnosis gets you through it. The strongest applications will show:
- A clear but unfilled insurance-partnership gap for example, MOUs that have not converted to contracts, a signed distribution partner without commercial traction, or a regulatory hurdle blocking a product launch.
- Evidence that you have engaged with investors, heard consistent feedback on what is holding you back, and are ready to address it.
- An honest, specific self-diagnosis of what is blocking your next stage of growth. Vague applications will not progress.
- Coachability- a willingness to engage openly with the 3IF Ventures TA Manager and accept structured feedback and support.
- Realistic potential for follow-on equity investment, from 3IF Ventures or other qualified investors, within 12 to 18 months of TA completion.
A word of candour: the founders who benefit most from this facility will be those able to name their weaknesses as precisely as their strengths. If you can articulate exactly what stands between your business and its next commercial milestone, this programme was designed for you.
To keep every intervention focused on the diagnosed gap, the facility will not fund:
- General operating costs or salaries unrelated to the TA intervention scope.
- Capital expenditure i.e. hardware, office space or equipment.
- Secondary transactions, debt repayment, or expenditure commitments made before the TA intervention begins.
- Marketing at scale. Limited launch-stage spend may form part of an intervention where it is the most efficient route to a defined milestone.
- Any expenditure ineligible under the TA Facility, including legal fines, gifts, lobbying activities and related items.
How to apply
Submit an Expression of Interest (EoI) through the BimaLab Africa Alumni Returnable Grant Programme application form by Friday, 11th September 2026. Your EoI should clearly cover five things:
- A short company overview; a pitch deck works well, including which BimaLab cohort you are from.
- Your current insurance proposition and commercial traction to date.
- The specific gaps you want the TA to address.
- What success would look like in six months.
- Your investment journey so far and your near-term plans.
We do not ask for a budget or a business plan at this stage. What we are looking for is clarity of thought.
What happens next
- Applications are screened against the eligibility criteria above.
- Shortlisted founders are invited to a structured interview with the 3IF Ventures TA Manager.
- The Selection Committee, comprising representatives of 3IF Ventures, FSD Africa and BimaLab Africa, confirms the Window 1 cohort by the end of September 2026.
- Selected founders complete a diagnostic, after which a tailored gap and milestone plan is agreed and signed for each insurtech.
- Delivery begins in October 2026.
A final word
BimaLab Africa has always been about more than acceleration, it is about building an insurtech ecosystem in which African innovators can raise capital, partner with insurers on commercial terms, and extend protection to the millions who currently live without it. This programme is the next step in that commitment to our alumni. If you are ready to close the gap between where your venture stands and where it needs to be, we look forward to reading your application.
Questions may be directed to gro.acirfadsf@ibmajn.htebazile and gro.balamib@ofni .