SME Finance Virtual Marketplace - Insurtech for Smallholder Farmers

Our latest Virtual Marketplace session on September 10th, 2025, convened a diverse group of stakeholders from the agri-finance and Insurtech sectors to explore innovative solutions for climate resilience and insurance for smallholder farmers.  

The session featured presentations from IFC, Adapta, Ibisa Network, Pula, One Acre Fund, and ACRE Africa. The session aimed to foster knowledge exchange, showcase technology-driven insurance models, and encourage partnerships among fintechs, DFIs, banks, and development agencies. 

Key Takeaways 

• Technology is central to scaling insurance for smallholder farmers, enabling faster claims, better product design, and lower costs. 

• Partnerships between insurers, reinsurers, fintechs, and governments are essential for ecosystem development. 

• Bundling insurance with inputs and credit improves uptake and affordability. 

• Customized products tailored to local conditions and farmer needs are more effective than one-size-fits-all models. 

• Open-source platforms and transparency can democratize access to insurance tools and data. 

• Community-based distribution (e.g., village champions) enhances outreach and trust. 

Harnessing Insurtech for Agricultural Resilience: IFC’s Experience 
Vijayasekar Kalavakonda, Senior Operations Officer, IFC, Nepal 

Vijay delivered a comprehensive overview of the Insurtech landscape, particularly in agriculture. He contextualized Insurtech as the application of technology to enhance insurance delivery, improve product design, and expand outreach. He outlined three business models: 

1. Digital Distributors – Tech platforms facilitating last-mile delivery. 

2. Embedded Enablers – Insurance bundled with other services (e.g., PayTM, AliPay). 

3. Full-stack Digital Insurers – Mature tech firms offering end-to-end insurance services. 

Vijay emphasized the growing relevance of Insurtech in agriculture due to climate change, extreme weather events, and disease outbreaks. He highlighted the need for predictive models, remote sensing, and real-time data to replace traditional, slow methods of loss assessment. 

Challenges in agri-insurance include: 

• Small landholdings in developing countries. 

• Difficulty in individual loss assessments. 

• Delayed claim settlements. 

Technology offers solutions through: 

• Faster claim processing (e.g., remote sensing reducing settlement time from six months to 2–3 months). 

• Customized products tailored to individual farms. 

• Lower service delivery costs. 

• Increased transparency and data integration. 

Adapta 
Adapta develops AI-enabled risk management systems that help banks evaluate agricultural loan risk using integrated climate, water, soil, and ecosystem data. They operate in Africa and Latin America. 
 
German Vegarra, Founder and CEO, Adapta 

German introduced their AI-enabled risk management system designed for banks to assess agricultural loan risks. The system integrates climate, soil, and water data to generate risk scores and adaptation suggestions, helping banks make informed lending decisions. 

Key features: 

• Cloud-based platform. 

• Scoring system from 0 to 100 (75+ considered high risk). 

• Adaptation recommendations based on regenerative agriculture. 

• Coverage for 80+ crops and multiple livestock breeds. 

German demonstrated the tool using a case study from Peru, showing how irrigation significantly reduces climate risk scores. He emphasized the system’s role in unlocking capital for farmers by reducing default probabilities and improving resilience. 

 

Ibisa Network  
IBISA is a global climate insurtech operating across Europe, Asia, and Africa, working with leading reinsurers and local insurers. It brings advanced expertise in parametric insurance design, satellite-based weather monitoring, and automated payout systems. 

Wycliffe Kiplagat, Director of Programs, IBISA network 

Wycliffe presented their satellite-based parametric insurance solutions. Ibisa’s mission is to make insurance scalable and accessible across Asia and Africa. 

Parametric insurance relies on satellite data to trigger payouts, eliminating the need for on-ground loss assessments. This enables: 

• Faster claim settlements. 

• Affordable and scalable products. 

• Integration with loans and other services. 

Ibisa addresses gaps in climate risk coverage, especially in low- and middle-income countries where insurance penetration is below 5%. Their products cover: 

• Rainfall and solar radiation risks. 

• Heat stress for humans, livestock, and poultry. 

• Flood risks. 

Ibisa’s technology platform includes: 

• Client-facing dashboards. 

• Operational data management. 

• Risk modeling tools. 

They have reached over 700,000 people and facilitated $600 million in premiums.  

 

Pula 
Pula is a pioneering Insurtech company based in Kenya, serving smallholder farmers across Africa and Asia. Pula uses technology and parametric insurance to reach previously unbanked and uninsured populations, helping them manage climate risks and improve farming practice. 

Fiona Hoffman, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Pula 

Fiona highlighted their vertically integrated insurance model. Pula offers: 

• Crop insurance. 

• Livestock insurance. 

• Disaster risk coverage. 

• Data and consulting services. 

Pula uses a combination of satellite data and crop-cutting experiments to assess yield losses, enabling coverage for multiple perils (climate shocks, pests, diseases). Their approach includes bundling insurance with inputs and credit to ensure affordability and accessibility. 

Challenges addressed: 

• Smallholder farmers’ reliance on rain-fed agriculture. 

• Limited access to finance due to high risk. 

• Lack of insurer capacity on the ground. 

Pula collaborates with local insurers and multinational reinsurers to build consortia, ensuring risk coverage and ecosystem development. They have protected 19 million farmers, facilitated $126 million in premiums, and paid out $92 million in claims across 19 countries. 

 

One Acre Fund 
One Acre Fund, through One Acre Shield, delivers inclusive, farmer-first reinsurance innovations solutions across Africa. 

Johannes Borchert, Global Head of Risk and Resilience, One Acre Fund 

Johannes introduced One Acre Shield, the Insurtech arm of One Acre Fund. One Acre Fund is a nonprofit serving 5 million farmers across nine African countries with input financing and bundled insurance. 

Challenges in insurance delivery include: 

• Limited affordability. 

• Inadequate coverage (only input costs). 

• Delayed payouts. 

• Lack of transparency and accountability. 

One Acre Shield aims to: 

• Make product design and pricing tools publicly available. 

• Develop open-source platforms for weather and yield index insurance. 

• Launch a nonprofit reinsurance facility to address market gaps. 

They collaborated with Columbia University, Purdue University, and IFC on research to understand insurance impacts on resilience. Johannes invited stakeholders to join their open-source initiative and global think tank to improve insurance access and effectiveness. 

 

ACRE Africa 
Agriculture and Climate Risk Enterprise (ACRE Africa) is a risk management solutions designer linking stakeholders to localized solutions such as insurance and climate change adaptation strategies to reduce agricultural and climate risks. ACRE Africa leverages cutting-edge Insurtech—AI analytics, digital platforms, and last-mile networks to protect smallholder farmers against climate risks across Africa. 

Stella Kimani, Chief Operations Officer, ACRE Africa 

Stella presented their work as a social enterprise focused on climate risk resilience. ACRE Africa operates in 13 countries with 45 staff and 500 village champions for last-mile distribution. 

Their three-pronged approach includes: 

1. Technical Product Design – AI-driven index products tailored to smallholder needs. 

2. Digital Distribution – “Digital Bima” platform for onboarding, training, policy placement, and claims. 

3. Village Champions – Community-based agents for outreach and data collection. 

Products offered: 

• Crop and livestock insurance. 

• Hybrid models. 

• Medical cover for livestock. 

Advisory services include climate risk analytics and digital solutions. Acre Africa has insured over 5 million farmers, with 1.2–1.3 million expected in 2025. Their digital platform supports national schemes in Uganda, Zimbabwe, and Kenya. 

Stella emphasized the importance of technology, community engagement, and partnerships in scaling insurance solutions.