NIC Pakistan and NextWallet Host Pakistan’s First InsurTech Panel Discussion

Building The Ecosystem for Digitising Insurance for Hacktivate 4.0

Under the Hacktivate 4.0 banner National Incubation Center Pakistan and NextWallet hosted a virtual panel discussion on InsurTech: Building The Ecosystem for Digitising Insurance. 

Watch the webinar here: https://youtu.be/Ngi2bYcenLY

InsurTech is new by definition, and its applications are constantly evolving. InsurTech is described as the use of technology in insurance processes and transactions and is trying to make its space as an independent industry sector within the financial services sector. 

Speakers for the event included Nomaan Bashir – Co-Founder and CEO Ozoned Digital, Fahad Awan – CEO Easy Insurance, Sibtain Jiwani – Founder SmartChoice, Ishaq Kothawala – CEO and Founder Waada Digital Insurance, and Waqar Asghar – CEO and Founder Mawaazna. 

Editorial Head at NextWallet, Aqsa Tariq, who moderated the panel discussion said, 

“The narrative around disruption in the finance space has to include more than digitization of payments, digital banks and wallets. The insurance industry has a huge opportunity to profit from digitization and we’re talking to the movers of the ecosystem who are making it happen. This panel discussion was the first of its kind in Pakistan that focused purely on the InsurTech companies who are leading the space on the innovation front.”

The session kicked off with a Keynote by Zeeshan Shahid, Program Manager at the National Incubation Center. The conversation focused on the challenges faced in making insurance mainstream in Pakistan, and the potential for growth presented by technology and innovative tools.

“The interconnectivity between insurance technology and consumers’ lives is increasing rapidly. Using this platform, I would encourage young companies operating in the InsurTech Space to bring their ideas to the forefront, so we can together foster innovation and build solutions in this exciting space”- Zeeshan bin Shahid, Program Manager NIC. 

CEO Ozoned Digital, Nomaan Bashir commented on the current insurance landscape stating, 

“We classify ourselves as innovators, not just in the distribution space but also in the space of capacity, product and reinsurance. As InsurTech players in the market, all of us are collectively working to disrupt the Insurance industry with the use of technology. As innovators in the insurtech space, we commit to bringing in value, products and bringing capacity and opening up new avenues.”

Summarizing on behalf of his insurtech colleagues on the panel, Sibtain Jiwani, founder of the aggregation portal SmartChoice.pk, said 

“The insurtech landscape gathering momentum in the last few years of our business reflects a gradual industry-wide shift from a “product-centric” to a “customer-centric” model. The challenge lies in raising awareness among the masses and creating value based offering to increase insurance adoption”

This insightful panel discussion on InsurTech helped lay out the industry landscape, its hurdles and opportunities, prominent market players and the role and application of technology in Insurance with regards to what the InsurTech industry looks like in Pakistan.

This event was organized in collaboration with Next Wallet as part of Hacktivate 4.0 – A FinTech Hackathon. 

About Hacktivate: Hacktivate is the brainchild of the NIC, that works closely with government and non-government organizations to hack for solutions to problems under various tech and non-tech. Till date, three hackathons have been organized on Education, Health and Agriculture. Upcoming is Hacktivate 4.0- A Fintech Hackathon, to be held on the 11th and 12th of April, 2021.