Founded in 2015 by Rose Goslinga and Thomas Njeru, Pula specializes in innovative agricultural insurance and digital products aimed at helping smallholder farmers manage climate risks, enhance farming practices, and increase their incomes over time.
By integrating insurance with crucial farming inputs like seeds and credit, Pula has made insurance solutions more affordable and accessible. The startup successfully secured a US$6 million Series A funding in 2021 and has recently completed a US$20 million Series B round. This new funding will enable Pula to significantly scale its operations and expand its footprint globally over the next five years.
The Series B round was led by BlueOrchard, a global impact investment manager part of the Schroders Group, through its InsuResilience investment strategy. Additional funding came from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Private Sector Window of the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP).
“Partnering with this coalition of like-minded investors to propel Pula’s global growth is an exhilarating milestone. It propels us closer to our triple 100 vision of delivering insurance to 100 million smallholder farmers. What began as an unconventional idea perceived as un-scalable nine years ago, has now become a scalable solution that addresses the real needs of millions of smallholder farmers across 22 countries,” Njeru commented.
Since its founding, Pula has collaborated with over 70 insurance companies, 20 reinsurance companies, and 100 distribution partners worldwide to offer their groundbreaking insurance solutions. This collaboration has also bolstered the capabilities of local insurance and reinsurance entities to comprehend and underwrite agricultural insurance tailored for smallholder farmers.
Pula primarily operates in Kenya, Nigeria, Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique, with plans to extend into Asia and Latin America. These operations are overseen from Switzerland and coordinated through their service center in Kenya.
“Pula stands out due to its pioneering business model, which incorporates artificial intelligence, ground-level data collection, mobile-based registration systems, remote sensing, and comprehensive automation tools. Their digital platform facilitates expansion into new regions with remarkable ease and efficiency, while maintaining low setup costs. The Pula team has an exceptional track record in the agricultural insurance sector and aligns strongly with our mission and strategy,” explained Richard Hardy, private equity investment director for Africa at BlueOrchard.
