Oko's mobile-centric micro insurance protecting small farmers in developing countries from climate risks: InsurFarm

Programme(s): 

H2020-EU.2.3. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs
H2020-EU.3. - PRIORITY 'Societal challenges
H2020-EU.2.1. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies

Topic: EIC-SMEInst-2018-2020 - SME instrument

Call for proposal: H2020-EIC-SMEInst-2018-2020

Funding Scheme: SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1

Grant agreement ID: 855142

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.