The acquisition gives Alan a foothold in Senegal and Ivory Coast and marks a significant expansion beyond its existing markets in France, Spain, Belgium and Canada. The companies did not disclose the value of the transaction.
Alan, which counts more than 1 million members, raised €580 million this year in a funding round that valued the company at €5.5 billion. Its valuation has risen by €1.5 billion since its previous fundraising in 2024, reflecting investor confidence in the company's growth prospects despite continued losses.
The 10-year-old company provides health insurance packages primarily to corporate customers. Its clients include Volkswagen Spain and France’s finance ministry, while its backers include major technology investor Prosus, Index Ventures and French football star Kylian Mbappé, who is both an investor and ambassador for the business.
The acquisition of Tanel represents a new chapter in Alan’s international ambitions.
Tanel operates a broadly similar business model, providing insurance coverage to corporate customers including ride-hailing company Yango and KFC. The insurer covers approximately 70,000 people across Senegal and Ivory Coast.
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| Jean-Charles Samuelian-Werve, the chief executive of Alan, left, and French football star Kylian Mbappé. The acquisition of Tanel will enable Alan to expand beyond its current markets © Alexis Réau |
“We looked at different opportunities for expansion and we were lucky to know the Tanel team for one year and a half,” Samuelian-Werve told the Financial Times.
The transaction also provides an exit for several investors that backed Tanel during its early growth, including Nigeria-based Ventures Platform, a prominent investor in African start-ups, and Japan’s AAIC, which focuses on healthcare investments across the continent.
Tanel was valued at $7.5 million in 2024. The company had been preparing to raise a Series A round when discussions with Alan shifted the direction of the business toward a sale.
Mouhamed Ndoye, Tanel’s Dakar-based chief executive, said the possibility of joining forces became increasingly attractive as the companies explored a potential funding round.
“That was actually our initial plan earlier this year,” Ndoye said of raising new capital. “But as we were discussing with Alan, we realised that it was a great opportunity to join forces because Alan has evolved beyond just health insurance.”
The acquisition comes as Alan seeks to build on strong revenue growth. The company now generates about €840 million in annual recurring revenue, although it remains loss-making as it continues to invest in expansion and development.
Under the terms of the deal, Tanel will be rebranded as Alan. Ndoye and co-founder Makhtar Diop will remain with the business and take responsibility for its operations and wider development across Africa.
The company plans to use Senegal as a base for further expansion, with English-speaking markets in both West and East Africa among its longer-term targets.
For Alan, the acquisition provides an opportunity to apply its technology-driven insurance model to markets where health coverage remains relatively underdeveloped and where a growing corporate sector is creating demand for employee benefits.
For Tanel’s founders and investors, meanwhile, the deal represents an early exit and a chance to continue building the business under the backing of a much larger, well-capitalised European insurance group.
The transaction signals Alan’s determination to make Africa an important part of its next phase of growth, as the company looks beyond its established European markets and seeks new sources of customers and revenue.