From fish-shaped coffins to slaughtered bulls, funerals in Africa are lavish affairs, providing a lucrative opportunity for insurance companies looking for business in some of the world's fastest growing economies. High death rates and low savings levels mean funeral insurance is proving an easier sell among people daunted by the cost of ceremonies that can stretch to several months of income.
Africa's Booming Funeral Business
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A street vendor passes a coffin made in the shape of a fish at the workshop of Kane Kwei in the Teshi area of Accra, Ghana, May 16, 2013.
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Coffins are displayed as a worker is reflected in a window at the Sizo funeral parlor in Soweto, South Africa, May 6, 2013.
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An employee works on a coffin in the shape of a film projector in the workshop of Kane Kwei in the Teshi area of Accra, Ghana, May 16, 2013.
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Bereaved relatives wait to pick newly built coffins from a roadside showroom in Nairobi, Kenya, May 20, 2013.