Kenya’s Pula gets $20m Series B to offer insurance to African farmers
TLDR
- Pula, an insurtech startup from Kenya, secures $20 million in Series B funding round led by BlueOrchard and IFC's venture capital platform.
- Founded in 2015, Pula offers agricultural insurance to small-scale farmers, protecting them from pest, disease, and weather-related losses.
- Operating in 22 countries, Pula plans to expand coverage to 100 million smallholder farmers by utilizing digital actuary platform for insurance integration.
Pula, an insurtech startup based in Kenya, has raised $20 million in a Series B funding round led by global investment manager BlueOrchard through its InsuResilience strategy, with participation from the IFC's $225 million venture capital platform, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Hesabu Capital, and existing investors.
Founded in 2015, Pula provides small-scale farmers with access to agricultural insurance. By offering protection against losses stemming from pests, diseases, and extreme weather conditions, the startup aims to bolster the resilience of farmers in the face of unpredictable agricultural challenges.
Pula operates across 22 countries, leveraging a network of over 100 partners to reach farmers. Through its digital actuary platform, which analyzes historical data such as weather patterns, Pula embeds insurance offers into farm input costs or credit, eliminating the need for direct insurance sales to farmers. The recent investment will fuel its plan to extend insurance coverage to 100 million smallholder farmers.
Key Takeaways
Agricultural insurance plays a pivotal role in emerging markets like Africa, where small-scale farmers play a significant role in food production but face numerous challenges in accessing insurance coverage. Despite their crucial contribution to the food supply, only a small fraction of these farmers, approximately 1%, have access to agricultural insurance. Barriers such as high costs, limited awareness, and lack of access further exacerbate the situation. Research conducted by Pula in various African countries where it operates has highlighted the transformative impact of agricultural insurance on smallholder farmers. On average, farmers who are covered by agricultural insurance have been able to increase their investment in their farms by 16%, leading to a substantial improvement in yields by 56%. Additionally, access to insurance has enabled these farmers to bolster their household savings by up to 170%, providing them with a much-needed financial safety net against agricultural risks and uncertainties.
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