Project description
Micro insurance protecting small farms
Smallholder farmers provide about 80 % of the food in developing countries. Sustainability is therefore a critical factor here. Still, wide-ranging climate risks continue to imperil their harvests. Crop insurance offers a solution but many farmers remain locked in poverty, unable to access such options. OKO’s InsurFarm solution provide farmers with an alternative affordable and fully automated insurance solution. Using weather prediction and automated contracts, InsurFarm’s unique insurance automatically compensates farmers located in areas struck by foul weather conditions. Farmers subscribe to this insurance via SMS and pay using any kind of mobile phone, with no bank regulators or intervention required.
Objective
Agriculture is a source of income for 2 billion people globally who grow the food we desperately need – 60% more food will be needed by 2050. Of these, smallholder farmers provide 80% of the food in developing countries, and their sustainability is critical. These farmers are at ever increasing risk of losing their harvest due to adverse weather. Yet, due to this risk, most farmers are deprived from basic financial tools to insure their farms and have no access to loans needed to invest or adopt new technologies. They are locked in poverty. Crop insurance is a solution that effectively secures farming income, but it is not accessible to them, as most are un-banked and illiterate. OKO’s InsurFarm solution offers these farmers with an accessible, affordable and fully automated insurance solution. OKO leverages the ubiquity of mobile phones and mobile payment, and the availability of satellite and weather data to create a new kind of insurance product. Using weather prediction and automated contracts, InsurFarm’s unique insurance automatically compensates farmers located in areas affected by adverse weather. Farmers subscribe to this insurance via SMS and pay using any kind of mobile phone, no bank needed. The innovations brought by OKO are highly valuable for insurance companies as OKO creates a new market for them, estimated to be worth € 7.5 billion globally. It also represents a unique opportunity for OKO’s mobile operator partners to offer a new “mobile financial service” to rural users. After successful pilots in Mali, OKO seeks funding to conduct a feasibility study for a pan-African followed by a global commercial launch. During this project, it will conduct market and economic studies, engage with insurance companies and mobile operators, expose InsurFarm to farmers, validate its models and define an adaptation plan to allow global operations. This will lead to a plan to achieve strong growth and fast access to markets.
Fields of science
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesmeteorology
- engineering and technologymechanical engineeringvehicle engineeringaerospace engineeringsatellite technology
- social scienceseconomics and businessbusiness and managementbusiness models
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringinformation engineeringtelecommunicationsmobile phones
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagriculture
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1Coordinator
6249601 TEL AVIV
Israel
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.