Gbenga Adigun is the founder of Scrella, an insurtech platform redefining smartphone insurance in Nigeria. With over a decade in banking and finance at leading institutions, he combines financial expertise with a passion for innovation. Through AI-powered remote device inspection and inclusive pricing, he is driving access to affordable insurance and advancing digital protection for everyday device users. In this interview with BODE ADEWUMI, he speaks on how Nigeria’s historical, cultural and technological context shapes attitudes toward insurance and how Scrella is redefining protection in the digital age.

How has Nigeria’s historical relationship with risk shaped its view of insurance?

Nigeria has always had strong informal systems for managing risk, built around community, family, and shared responsibility. People relied on social networks rather than formal institutions. While those systems provided support, they were not always structured to address the scale and speed of modern economic life. This history shaped insurance as something unfamiliar, but it also reflects a deeply rooted culture of mutual protection.

What lessons from traditional commerce influence your modern approach to protection?

Traditional commerce in Nigeria was built on trust, reputation, and continuity. Traders understood that stability was essential for long-term success. That same principle applies today. Protection ensures continuity. It allows individuals and businesses to recover from setbacks and continue participating in economic life.

How do you see technology reshaping long-standing attitudes toward loss and recovery?

Technology introduces speed and accessibility. It allows protection to become part of everyday life rather than something distant or abstract. As people experience faster recovery and continuity, their relationship with protection evolves. Technology makes protection visible, practical, and relevant.

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What social shifts are necessary for insurance to become a shared habit?

Insurance becomes a shared habit when people see it as a practical tool rather than a theoretical concept. This requires trust, education, and consistent experience. As protection becomes integrated into the everyday systems people already use, adoption grows naturally.

How does Scrella fit into Nigeria’s broader story of economic adaptation?

Nigeria has always adapted to change with resilience and creativity. As the economy becomes increasingly digital, protection must evolve alongside it. Scrella exists to support that transition by protecting the tools people depend on to work, communicate, and participate in the digital economy.

What generational differences do you observe in attitudes toward protection?

Younger generations, having grown up in a digital environment, are more familiar with structured protection and digital systems. Older generations often rely on traditional support networks shaped by experience. Both perspectives reflect a desire for stability, but technology is helping to bridge that gap by making protection more accessible and understandable.

How do cultural values affect how people respond to preventive solutions?

Cultural values influence how people perceive responsibility and preparedness. In many cases, people focus on solving problems when they arise rather than preventing them. As awareness grows around the importance of continuity and stability, preventive solutions become more meaningful.

What role does education play in changing financial behaviour over time?

Education creates understanding, and understanding builds confidence. When people clearly understand how protection supports their stability, adoption becomes more natural. Education helps transform protection from an abstract concept into a practical tool.

How do you measure progress in a market where trust evolves slowly?

Progress is measured through consistency and confidence. It is reflected in how people engage, how they respond, and how trust grows over time. Sustainable progress is built on reliability and experience rather than speed alone.

What do you believe future historians will note about this phase of digital transition?

They will see it as a defining period where access to digital tools transformed economic participation. They will also note the importance of building systems that protect that access. Protection ensures that digital progress translates into lasting stability and opportunity.

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