The funding round was led by The Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF) and Equator, with additional participation from the Asian Development Bank Ventures (ADBV) and existing investors including Ankur Capital.
The investment is intended to enhance IBISA’s capacity to deliver accessible parametric insurance products. Research from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations estimated that global agricultural losses due to extreme weather events range between $10-15 billion annually.
IBISA is responding to these challenges by offering streamlined and efficient parametric insurance products assisting those impacted by the climate crisis.
Through harnessing satellite and actuarial technologies, IBISA designs and operates insurance products which bolster financial resilience in regions where communities are most affected by extreme weather events.
IBISA previously raised a $1.7 million seed round in December 2021. The company has focussed on India since establishing a local presence in 2023.
IBISA offers a wide range of products designed to meet the variety of stakeholders’ needs worldwide. These range from agricultural-focused insurance products, to typhoon insurance, and loan protection for financial institutions. The company has also developed a heat stress product designed for dairy farmers in India which is now being expanded into other countries such as Bangladesh.
IBISA will use the funding to build more products and to expand its offering further into emerging markets.
Maria Mateo, CEO of IBISA, (pictured right) commented: “Since the beginning at IBISA, we have functioned with great agility as product innovators and bringing these products to market efficiently. This is what drives us. This is our DNA. Now, we are entering the industrialisation phase of our journey. With the backing of this fundraising effort and the support of both existing and new investors, our goal is to amplify our product offerings, expand within our current markets, and explore new markets.”
Tamer El-Raghy, Managing Director of ARAF, said: “We’re honoured to co-lead this investment round in IBISA with Equator and excited to partner with a world-class entrepreneur like Maria. African farmers are among the most negatively impacted by climate change and the need for low-cost parametric insurance products is a must-to-have for those farmers to be able to absorb a climate shock and IBISA’s cutting-edge technology helps developing low-cost insurance products for those farmers. This investment is an invaluable addition to ARAF’s portfolio and we look forward to supporting IBISA’s regional growth.”
Nijhad Jamal, Managing Partner of Equator, added: “Investing in IBISA aligns with our strategy to back innovative ventures providing critical climate adaptation products and services. IBISA’s technology and business model specifically enable it to scale access to a broad range of affordable parametric insurance products across emerging markets.”
Thitirat Sittakaradej of ADB Ventures commented: “IBISA’s cutting-edge approach leverages satellite data analytics and advanced risk modelling to make parametric insurance accessible and affordable for climate-vulnerable communities. We are excited to support IBISA in its mission to advance climate risk insurance, a crucial way of fostering meaningful climate resilience in the region.”
Finally, Ritu Verma, Managing Partner at Ankur Capital, said: “It’s been an exciting journey working closely with IBISA over the last two years, as they leveraged their deep technical expertise in parametric insurance to scale their offerings and launch innovative new products to insure vulnerable communities and small businesses against adverse climate events. We look forward to continuing our support to IBISA’s vision of transforming climate insurance across Asia, Africa and the Pacific.”
Source: PR Newswire
