The archive · Money & Fintech · Product decision · 2015–2024
Pula bets bundled insurance can scale cover to 15.4M smallholder farmers
Kenyan agri-insurtech embeds drought and flood cover in farm inputs and credit; 15.4M farmers in 22 countries by Apr 2024, $20M Series B.
Pula
What the business is
Digital agricultural insurer: designs crop and livestock cover with a data-driven actuary platform, gets it underwritten by insurers, and distributes it embedded in farm inputs, vouchers and loans.
Starting capital：$20M Series B closed Apr 2024, led by BlueOrchard's InsuResilience strategy, with IFC's $225M venture platform, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Hesabu Capital and existing investors.
How it started
Founded in 2015 in Kenya by Thomas Njeru (CEO) and Rose Goslinga, both of whom came from agricultural backgrounds; they aimed at the 97% of African smallholders with no formal cover.
What happened
Pula grew by partnering with 70+ insurers and 20+ reinsurers that underwrite products priced on its digital actuary platform using weather history, yields and loss data. By Apr 2024 it had supported 15.4M farmers across 22 countries, with payouts of $40M+ to about 900,000 farmers and an 80% renewal rate; highlights include a Zambian scheme bundling premiums with fertilizer and seed and an Ethiopian voucher program that reached 122,000 farmers.
How it ended up
Still scaling as of Apr 2024: the $20M Series B funds livestock covers (Nigeria pilot, then Kenya) and expansion in Asia and Latin America, against CEO Thomas Njeru's 'triple 100' goal of 100M insured smallholders.
Background
Pula is a Kenyan insurtech betting that smallholder farmers will buy agricultural insurance when it is bundled into purchases they already make. It designs crop and livestock products on a digital actuary platform using weather history, harvest and loss data, has them underwritten by 70+ insurance and 20+ reinsurance partners, and distributes them embedded in farm inputs, government vouchers and loans through more than 100 partners.
Co-founded in 2015 by Thomas Njeru and Rose Goslinga, both with agricultural backgrounds, Pula attacked a market where roughly 97% of African smallholders had no formal cover. Its wedge was distribution: instead of a farmer-facing insurance brand, premiums ride on seed and fertilizer packages and credit products, cutting cost, awareness and access barriers at once.
By Apr 2024 Pula reported 15.4M farmers supported in 22 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America, $40M+ in payouts to about 900,000 farmers, and an 80% renewal rate. A $20M Series B led by BlueOrchard's InsuResilience strategy, with IFC, the Gates Foundation and Hesabu Capital, was earmarked for livestock covers, starting with a Nigeria pilot before Kenya, and for scaling the Asia and Latin America business it entered in 2021.
The company's stated aim is a 'triple 100' vision: insurance for 100 million smallholder farmers, built on proof that bundling plus data-driven pricing can make low-premium climate cover viable at scale.
What has to be true
- Roughly 97% of African smallholder farmers lack formal insurance, so the market gap is enormous and largely uncontested.
- Bundling premiums into seeds, fertilizer and credit rides transactions farmers already make, removing the cost of a separate sale.
- Data-driven pricing keeps premiums affordable while automating payouts, which is what builds trust after a drought or flood.
- An 80% renewal rate and $40M+ in payouts to 900,000 farmers show the model works beyond the first policy year.
- Impact investors such as BlueOrchard and IFC bring patient capital aligned with climate resilience, funding expansion into new geographies and products.
What can be applied
If your customers cannot afford a standalone product, embed it in one they already buy — then make pricing data-driven so tiny premiums work and payouts arrive fast enough to be trusted.
Aftermath
As of Apr 15, 2024, Pula remains an operating, scaling business: its $20M Series B closed with BlueOrchard leading and IFC, the Gates Foundation and Hesabu Capital participating; it reports 15.4M farmers supported in 22 countries, 70+ insurance and 20+ reinsurance partners, and $40M+ paid to about 900,000 farmers. Livestock cover is planned for Kenya after a Nigerian pilot, and the Asia and Latin America operations entered in 2021 keep growing, coordinated from Kenya and managed from Switzerland. CEO Thomas Njeru targets 100M insured smallholders under the 'triple 100' vision.
Sources
- Pula raises $20M Series B to provide agricultural insurance to farmers in Africa, Asia and LatAm
- Agri-Insurtech pioneer Pula closes USD 20m Series B funding round to finance millions of farmers in Africa
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