Pula, a startup providing Nigerian farmers insurance against banditry raises $20m series B

Pula, an agric insurance technology company based in Kenya has raised $20 million in a Series B funding round. The company, which is currently running a pilot program that provides rural farmers in Nigeria comprehensive insurance against banditry, disease and death of animals, said the new funding will be used to establish new partnerships as it looks to expand its insurance policies to include livestock insurance. 

The latest funding round was led by BlueOrchard through its InsuResilience strategy which aims at providing access to climate insurance to vulnerable people in emerging markets. The round also saw participation from the IFC through its $225 million venture capital fund, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Hesabu Capital. Other existing investors also participated in the round.

Speaking about the funding round, Pula CEO Thomas Njeru said partnering with this group of like-minded investors to boost the growth of Pula globally is a very exciting milestone in driving the startup’s triple 100 vision, through which it intends 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,” Njeru said.

Pula is providing insurance through distribution partners

Founded in 2015 by CEO Thomas Njeru and Rose Goslinga, the Kenya-based insurance technology company is focused on providing access to agricultural insurance to small-holder farmers across emerging markets in Africa. This insurance would protect them against losses caused by pests, diseases and extreme natural events like floods and droughts.

Instead of selling insurance directly to farmers, Pula has built a distribution channel of over 100 partners. These partners include charitable organizations, banks, governments and agricultural input companies. The distribution channels guarantee that the startup is able to reach farmers even in the most remote areas and provide what it calls “embedded insurance,” for instance, in farm input costs or credit.

So far, the startup said it has helped 15.4 million farmers across Africa, Asia and Latin America to get insurance. 

The startup says its products have been customised to suit the demands of its clients as well as the needs of the benefiting farmers. The products are underwritten by insurance and reinsurance companies and are designed 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 farmers using these products have witnessed increased investment, yields and savings. This, according to the startup, underscores the benefits that agricultural insurance could hold for emerging markets like Africa, where small-scale farmers contribute 70 per cent of the food supply yet only 1 per cent of them are covered.

“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 per cent, improve yields by 56 per cent, and increase household savings by up to 170 per cent. Also, an impact on farmers’ livelihoods can be seen through our partner insurer’s payouts – which have reached close to over US$40 million to 900,000 farmers since Pula’s inception to date,” Thomas Njeru said.

The CEO also said his startup’s impact is reflected in renewal rates and growths, pointing out that 80 per cent of the farmer groups and aggregators that buy Pula-developed insurance products from their partner insurers renew the following year. He said this rate is above the industry average and reflects customers’ satisfaction with their comprehensive products.

Pula introducing livestock covers with new funding

Therefore, building on the success of its crop insurance products, Pula says it is looking to introduce livestock covers in countries like Kenya. This will kickstart upon the completion of a pilot program that kicked off in Nigeria last year. Through insurance partners, the startup says it has been offering rural families in Nigeria comprehensive coverage against banditry, disease and death of animals. It would also be doubling down on Asia and Latin America, markets it entered in 2021.

Among its collaborations is a long-term partnership with the government of Zambia, where the insurtech embeds insurance premiums with fertilizer and seed packages, reaching farmers across the country. 

In Ethiopia, it partnered with the World Food Programme and German Development Bank KfW and a local insurer, where it embedded insurance in the input voucher scheme that reached 122,000 farmers. The startup says its impact is about to be felt in the Amhara region where it is set to make its largest insurance payout to date, estimated at $800,000, following an outbreak of wheat rust disease.

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