CAMEROON : MTN Ends aYo Insurance, Activity Deemed Unprofitable
La voix des entreprises 
(LVDE) — Telecom operator MTN Cameroon has decided to dissolve its digital insurance subsidiary aYo Insurance, created to provide micro-insurance products to its subscribers. Announced in early 2026, this decision follows several years of significant financial losses. The move raises questions about the future of mobile insurance in a country where financial inclusion remains relatively limited.
In Douala, at MTN Cameroon’s headquarters, the announcement was made without major media fanfare: the local micro-insurance unit “aYo Insurance,” wholly owned by MTN Cameroon and with a share capital of 415 million FCFA, is being wound up. This decision, linked to unsustainable financial performance, marks the end of an attempt to integrate insurance services into the offering of a major telecom operator.
Created from the technological platform of aYo Holdings, MTN Group’s insurtech subsidiary designed to democratize access to insurance coverage via mobile phones, aYo Cameroon aimed to allow subscribers to access life and hospital insurance products at low cost. These services were designed to be “plug-and-play,” using MTN’s MoMo mobile wallet to subscribe to and manage insurance policies without paper documentation. This represented a notable innovation in a market where less than 2% of the population had formal insurance coverage according to company estimates in 2023.
For several years, aYo Insurance offered automatic coverage linked to airtime purchases, providing benefits such as death benefits or hospital compensation through the purchase of data or prepaid credit bundles. Despite promising digital distribution potential, the subsidiary apparently failed to establish a profitable business model. The absence of detailed public financial data makes it difficult to accurately assess the scale of the financial challenges faced by the unit.
MTN Cameroon representatives have not yet released a detailed statement explaining the exact reasons for the liquidation. However, in a sector where competition from traditional insurers and digital platforms is intensifying, challenges included low insurance penetration rates, high operating costs, and difficulties in effectively monetizing products distributed through mobile channels.
The African micro-insurance ecosystem is still widely considered a key driver of financial inclusion in many Francophone countries. The disappearance of an actor such as aYo could slow down initiatives aimed at integrating unbanked populations into risk protection mechanisms. Moreover, MTN’s withdrawal from the market is part of a broader strategic restructuring within the group, which operates in several African countries and is increasingly focusing on its core telecommunications and digital financial services activities.
While micro-insurance is often seen as a tool to reduce economic vulnerability among low-income households, the aYo experience in Cameroon raises questions about the viability of insurance models directly integrated into telecom platforms without broader structural support. Sector observers are now awaiting further clarification regarding the status of existing products and commitments to currently insured customers, as well as MTN’s future strategy in the digital financial services segment.
Raphael Mforlem
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