Pula, an insurtech based in Kenya, has raised a $20 million series B funding round from investors to establish new partnerships and expand its business in Africa, Latin America, and Asia.
Investors included Global investment manager BlueOrchard, who led the round through its InsuResilience strategy. Other investors include IFC, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Hesabu Capital, and existing investors.
Pula has built a distribution channel of over 100 partners, including charitable organizations, banks, governments, and agricultural input companies, to serve even the hard-to-reach farmers, by embedding insurance, for instance, in farm input costs or credit.
Each product Pula offers is customized to suit the demands of its clients and the needs of the beneficiary farmers.
The products, underwritten by insurance and reinsurance companies, are designed (including premium setting) through Pula’s digital actuary platform, based on historical data, including weather patterns, and the frequency of events like floods or drought, harvests, losses, and inputs used.
Pula says they have seen increased investment, yields, and savings by farmers using its products, underscoring the benefits that agricultural insurance portends for emerging markets like Africa, where small-scale farmers contribute 70% of the food supply yet only 1% of them are covered.
- “Partnering with this group of like-minded investors to boost the growth of Pula globally is a very exciting milestone in driving our triple 100 vision, through which we intend to bring insurance to 100 million smallholder farmers. What started nine years ago as an unconventional idea that many deemed un-scalable is now a proven solution that has solved real needs for millions of smallholder farmers across 22 countries,” said Pula CEO Thomas Njeru, who co-founded the company with Rose Goslinga.
- “Research carried out by Pula in some African countries where we have delivered insurance shows that agricultural insurance helps smallholder farmers to on average increase investment in their farms by 16%, improve yields by 56%, and increase household savings by up to 170%. Also, an impact on farmers’ livelihoods can be seen through our partner insurer’s payouts — which have reached close to over $40 million to 900,000 farmers since Pula’s inception to date,” added Njeru.
- “Lastly, our impact is reflected in our renewal rate and growth. Eighty percent of the farmer groups and aggregators that buy Pula-developed insurance products from our partner insurers renew the following year, which is above the industry average, and reflects our customers satisfaction with our comprehensive products.”
Pula is set to introduce livestock covers in countries like Kenya upon the completion of a pilot program that kicked off in Nigeria last year.
Pula, through insurance partners, has been offering rural families in Nigeria comprehensive coverage against banditry, disease and death of animals. It is also doubling down on Asia and Latin America, markets it entered in 2021.