Ibisa raises $3 million to advance climate insurance solutions in Africa and Asia

The Luxembourg-based startup Ibisa, known for its innovative climate insurance solutions, has recently raised $3 million to propel its growth initiatives across Africa and Asia.

This funding round was spearheaded by the Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (Araf) and Equator, with additional backing from Asian Development Bank Ventures (ADBV) and continued support from previous investors such as Ankur Capital.

The capital infusion is set to enhance Ibisa’s efforts in crafting parametric insurance products, which utilize technology to provide climate risk coverage in an efficient and responsive manner. Ibisa’s current portfolio includes a variety of climate insurance offerings designed for sectors such as agriculture, protection against typhoons, and loan coverage for financial institutions.

Among Ibisa’s innovative offerings is a heat stress insurance product, originally designed for dairy farmers in India, which is now being extended to other climate-vulnerable areas including Bangladesh.

Such insurance solutions are of particular significance in Africa, a continent that is disproportionately affected by climate change, experiencing severe droughts and catastrophic events like Cyclone Freddy, which caused extensive damage in Madagascar and Mozambique earlier in the year.

Highlighting the importance of these services, Tamer El-Raghy, Director General of Araf, emphasized, “Affordable parametric insurance is essential for African farmers to mitigate the impacts of climate shocks.”

With the Food and Agriculture Organization citing annual losses of $10-15 billion due to extreme weather events in global agriculture, Ibisa’s forward-thinking approach is poised to play a critical role in fostering climate resilience for some of the most susceptible communities around the globe.