AI Agents Playbook: Reimagining Financial Services in Africa
Download FreeAn enterprise-grade AI Agent on WhatsApp transforming life assurance for NMB Bank and Metro Assurance ,simplifying engagement, underwriting, claim, and document processing for customers across Tanzania.
Year
2025
Country
Tanzania ( East Africa )
Introduction
In the rapidly evolving landscape of banking and finance, staying ahead of technological advancements is crucial for maintaining a competitive edge.
This case study explores how we partnered with a leading bank in Tanzania to develop an AI agent solution that revolutionized their customer service operations, enhanced user experience, and optimized internal processes.
PARTNERSHIP GOAL
→ The goal was to build an AI agent seamlessly integrated with the bank’s core systems delivering 24/7 personalised support, automating routine tasks, and freeing human agents to focus on complex cases, thereby improving customer satisfaction and enterprise efficiency.
NMB Bank is one of Tanzania’s largest and most innovative financial institutions, known for its commitment to leveraging technology to enhance customer experiences and drive financial inclusion across the country.
Metro Life Assurance is a leading insurance provider in Tanzania, offering a wide range of life assurance products and services designed to meet the diverse needs of individuals and businesses.
When Metro Assurance and NMB Bank approached iPF Softwares, they needed more than a chatbot—they needed a smarter, conversational layer that could navigate the complexities of group life assurance. This included handling:
This case study explores how we partnered with a leading bank in Tanzania to develop an AI agent solution that revolutionized their customer service operations, enhanced user experience, and optimized internal processes.
When we were first challenged to work on the Life Assurance Chatbot, we knew it wasn’t just about automation. It was about building trust, accessibility, and reimagining how insurance could work for everyday Tanzanians.
grayson julius from ipf softwares
Across many African markets—including Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana, and Uganda—life assurance remains largely offline. This solution aimed to reverse that trend, starting with Tanzania.
In a market where WhatsApp is as common as airtime itself, the question wasn’t whether to build a WhatsApp-based solution—it was why we hadn’t done it sooner.
WhatsApp is the most used messaging platform in Africa, with over 300 million active users across the continent (Statista, 2023).
In Tanzania, more than 90% of smartphone users rely on WhatsApp as their primary digital communication tool (TCRA, 2022). The opportunity wasn’t just about digitising insurance—it was about doing so within a familiar channel that customers already trusted.
We envisioned a conversational agent that could:
All within a simple, conversational WhatsApp interface.
WhatsApp isn’t just convenient—it’s the dominant messaging platform across Tanzania. This made it the ideal digital front door for insurance services.
We started with people—not technology. Our process involved:
Engaged bancassurance teams and call centre agents to map real frustrations and pain points. Design was informed by language preferences, device limitations, and literacy barriers.
Built and tested early WhatsApp flows. We refined OCR handling for IDs and adapted tone and language for clarity—leveraging Swanglish where appropriate.
Created a microservices architecture that securely connected the agent to underwriting systems, support tools, and payment APIs.
Post-launch analytics guided real-time improvements. The AI agent continues to learn from conversations, enhancing accuracy and relevance over time.
The project was delivered by a dedicated, cross-functional team at iPF Softwares, including AI engineers, backend developers, UX experts, and project managers. Working closely with Metro Life and NMB Bank, the team co-designed and implemented a chatbot that reflected real user needs while aligning with local regulations and insurer workflows.
Our open-source OCR engine was customised to extract data from Tanzanian national IDs, policy documents, and claim forms. OCR performance was tuned to low-resolution image uploads—often sent via WhatsApp camera. Key techniques included:
Integrating with both NMB Bank’s and Metro’s systems meant juggling:
We built a robust middleware layer using FastAPI and Nest JS, exposing RESTful APIs that bridged WhatsApp interactions with backend systems. Key features included:
The AI Agent wasn’t just scripted—it could reason across states. We implemented:
The orchestration layer was designed in FastAPI with fallbacks to FAQ responses when the LLM couldn’t confidently route.
Our solution was a custom-built AI agent integrated directly into WhatsApp, designed to handle the entire group life assurance journey—from onboarding to claims. Key features included:
This AI agent not only streamlined operations but also provided a user-friendly experience that resonated with the Tanzanian market.
The solution was built using a combination of:
This robust tech stack ensured the AI agent was not only powerful but also scalable to handle growing user demands.
This project wasn’t just about building a chatbot. It was about transforming how insurance is delivered—replacing bureaucracy with conversation.
By meeting customers where they are—on WhatsApp—we helped NMB Bank and Metro Assurance lead the way in digital-first, human-centred insurance across Africa. The result is a scalable, smart, and inclusive solution that redefines what’s possible in modern bancassurance.
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