Smallholder farmers face substantial risks from unpredictable weather patterns and volatile markets worldwide. In Africa, a Kenyan agritech startup, Pula, is leveraging AI to help protect vulnerable communities, one farmer at a time.
Co-created in 2015 by Thomas Njeru, Pula combines AI and satellite data to offer innovative insurance solutions for smallholder farmers’ specific challenges. The company’s main product, Area Yield Index Insurance, is produced by executing real-time crop yield monitoring at scale and synthesizing this data along with other inputs, including remote sensing. Pula delivers reliable and affordable insurance products to more farmers, enabling them to weather challenges like drought, flood, or pest infestation. In April 2024, Pula secured $20 million in a series B funding round that will enable it to establish new partnerships, including for livestock covers.
Pula’s innovation is shrinking the number of smallholder farmers in Kenya currently locked out of formal financial services and insurance. Calculations based on data from the 2021 World Bank Global Findex Report suggest that approximately 5.3 million farmers lack insurance in the country. The finding points to a substantial gap in risk protection for this vulnerable group.
Pula’s solutions bring the following key benefits:
- Risk Mitigation: Smallholders are protected from financial losses from severe weather events and other risks.
- Increased Investment: Farmers are empowered to invest in their farms, leading to higher yields and improved livelihoods.
- Resilience: Communities can better adapt to climate change and other developmental challenges.
- Financial Inclusion: Underserved populations gain access to financial services.
Pula’s reaching over two million Kenyan farmers through its insurance offerings is a worthy achievement. However, the country must still bridge a wide gap to attain comprehensive financial inclusion and risk protection for its smallholder farmers. Creating strong incentives for AI startups like Pula to grow will put Kenya firmly on the road to a more equitable and sustainable future for millions of smallholder farmers—public-private partnerships involving the government, NGOs, and financial institutions will be key to success.
Pula is a great and timely innovation especially so because climate change is expected to be a risk multiplier and the important role of insurance as a climate resilience measure can’t be overstated