(L-R):* ZEP-RE Academy Head Christine Gitachu, FSD Africa Principal Sustainable Insurance Elias Omondi, AWS Enterprise Account Manager Fiona Nakitare, AKI ICT Manager Brettah Muthuri and M-TIBA Director of Operations Shadrack Kiratu, who served as judges of the InsurTech Forum Nairobi 2026 AI Challenge. The judges were tasked with identifying Africa's most impactful AI solutions, showcasing practical, auditable AI built for the future of insurance.
Africa's most promising insurance technology innovators were recognised at the 2026 Execution Advantage AI Challenge, held during InsurTech Forum Nairobi (ITFN).
The competition challenged participants to build artificial intelligence (AI) solutions capable of operating in live insurance environments, not just controlled pilots, as the sector accelerates its shift from experimentation to deployment at scale.
The challenge was organised by InsurTech Forum Nairobi in partnership with BimaLab, ZEP Reinsurance and M-TIBA, alongside other industry partners.
It brought together insurance professionals, underwriters, claims specialists, risk and compliance experts, innovators, and technology developers from across the region.
Held under the theme, "Execution is Strategy: Can Your AI Stand Up to an Audit?", participants were assessed on innovation, technical capability and their ability to demonstrate transparency, explainability, accountability and human oversight—qualities the sector increasingly demands as AI adoption moves beyond the proof-of-concept stage.
Competitors worked across four tracks addressing the industry's most immediate opportunities: AI governance and oversight, adaptive policy management, continuous underwriting and risk monitoring, and end-to-end claims automation.
Jubilee Insurance was crowned the overall winner of the ITFN 2026 AI Challenge, with Baza Analytics finishing second and The Monarch Insurance taking third place. Their solutions demonstrated how AI can be deployed responsibly while delivering tangible business outcomes.
Ayisi Makatiani, CEO and Co-Founder of Caava Group, said the quality of the solutions presented during the challenge demonstrated Africa's growing capacity to lead in responsible AI innovation.
"The insurance industry is entering a new era where competitive advantage will increasingly depend on how effectively organisations deploy AI. Success will not be determined simply by access to technology, but by the ability to implement it in a way that is trusted, explainable and accountable," said Makatiani.
Participants were encouraged to develop auditable AI agents capable of monitoring AI systems for bias and errors, adapting insurance coverage to changing customer needs, proactively identifying emerging risks, and automating claims processes while providing clear explanations for every decision made.
Shadrack Kiratu, Director of Operations at M-TIBA, said the challenge demonstrated where the industry needs to go next.
"AI is creating significant opportunities for insurers to improve efficiency, strengthen risk management and deliver better customer experiences. As adoption accelerates, the industry must focus on deploying it responsibly and at scale. The solutions presented here showed that the future belongs to AI that is not only innovative but capable of operating within real insurance environments," said Kiratu.
Speaking during the event ceremony, Henok Eyob, Managing Director at Boston Consulting Group, said the challenge reflects the industry's commitment to encouraging innovation that supports both customer value and regulatory compliance.
"The single most reliable predictor of transformation success is whether businesses treat AI as a business priority and not a tech program and use it to track outcomes," said Eyob.
Held as part of the two-day InsurTech Forum Nairobi 2026 on June 18 and 19, the AI challenge provided a platform for insurers, technology companies and innovators to collaborate on practical solutions capable of addressing some of the industry's most complex challenges.
