A man using his mobile phone walks along a street in down town Nairobi on July 24, 2019. (Photo by SIMON MAINA / AFP) (Photo credit should read SIMON MAINA/AFP via Getty Images) A man using his mobile phone walks along a street in downtown Nairobi on July 24, 2019. (Photo: SIMON MAINA/AFP via Getty Images)

(Bloomberg) — A Kenyan startup that offers insurance from as little as $1 a month is betting the market for small policies will eventually make money, even if the metrics are pointing in the other direction.

"To date, most micro-insurance has been supported by grants and are really not viable business models," Ted Pantone, the co-founder and chief executive officer of Turaco, said in an interview in Nairobi. "With the changes that our business is implementing, it shows there are clear opportunities to turn it into a commercial enterprise."

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