OKO Finance

Parametric crop insurance for smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa

Specialty Solutions Startup Seed

Overview

OKO Finance is a parametric insurance technology provider serving smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. The company designs and distributes satellite-indexed crop insurance products that cover drought and flood events, targeting producers of millet, maize, sorghum, cotton, barley, and coffee in emerging markets across Mali, Cote d'Ivoire, Uganda, Mozambique, and Angola.

The company operates an integrated platform combining mobile apps, a web dashboard, RESTful APIs, and mobile payment integrations including Orange Money. Insurance products are distributed as standalone coverage and embedded within input credit agreements, out-grower contracts, and agricultural value chain arrangements, optimized for markets with limited connectivity. Claims settle automatically based on satellite weather data, removing the need for on-site loss assessment.

Since its founding, OKO has insured more than 33,000 farmers and paid out USD 482K in claims across verified weather events. The company has raised USD 2.09M in total funding from investors including Newfund, ResiliAnce, Mercy Corps Ventures, Techstars, and Catalyst Fund, and maintains corporate partnerships with Cargill, Touton, and Fairtrade for supply chain risk management.

Products & Services

Parametric Index Insurance

Crop-specific parametric insurance products triggered by satellite weather data for drought and flood events. Coverage is available for multiple crop types across Mali, Uganda, and Cote d'Ivoire, with automated claim settlement upon trigger conditions being met.

Key Features

Satellite-based risk indexing and automated claim settlement
Multi-crop coverage including millet, maize, sorghum, cotton, barley, and coffee
Mobile-delivered policy enrollment and claims notification

Target Users: Smallholder farmers, agricultural cooperatives, microfinance institutions

Distribution & Technology Platform

An integrated technology stack comprising mobile apps, web dashboard, RESTful APIs, and mobile payment integrations for deploying insurance in frontier markets.

Key Features

Orange Money and mobile payment network integration
RESTful API for institutional partner integration
Low-connectivity design for rural field deployment

Target Users: Agro-industries, financial institutions, development organizations

Custom Group Insurance Solutions

Bespoke parametric insurance programs designed for corporate agro-industry clients, financial institutions, and development programs seeking to insure groups of smallholder producers.

Key Features

Custom product design per geography and crop type
Partnership structuring with reinsurance support from Allianz and Sanlam-Allianz
Impact reporting for sustainability and development mandates

Target Users: Agro-industrial companies, NGOs, donor-funded development programs