Kenyan Insurtech Pula Secures $20M Series B Round

Pula, a Kenyan insurance technology (Insurtech) startup, has secured $20 million in Series B funding to expand its reach across Africa and establish new partnerships. Swiss investment manager BlueOrchard led the funding round via its InsuResilience strategy, with participation from the IFC's $225 million venture capital platform, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Hesabu Capital, and existing investors. Pula, co-founded in 2015, aims to provide insurance to smallholder farmers, protecting them from losses due to pests, diseases, and extreme weather conditions. The startup operates in twenty-two countries, leveraging a digital actuary platform to embed insurance offers in farm input costs or credit, reaching farmers through over one hundred partners.

SunCulture has raised $12 million to expand its solar irrigation solutions across sub-Saharan Africa, partnering with banks, government agencies, and agricultural input companies. Pula plans to provide an insurance payout of approximately $800,000 in Amhara, Ethiopia, to combat wheat rust disease. ThriveAgric and Acorn Rabobank are collaborating to empower thirty thousand Nigerian farmers.