Grace Ashiru
OKO, an insurance firm based in Mali, has completed a seed extension funding round, raising US$500,000 to support its growth in Cote D’Ivoire and its readiness for Series A financing.
In addition to Lionel Dorie, Henry Allard, and Guillaume Leenhardt, founding partner of Augusta Energy Group, the global impact-tech accelerator Katapult contributed to the extended round of funding.
OKO was established in 2017, and it makes affordable crop insurance products that can be used on mobile devices. These products are intended to provide subsistence farmers with the required financial certainty, regardless of the unpredictable trends in climate.
The percentage of customers that paid for OKO services increased dramatically between 2020 and 2021. In addition, the firm intends to continue expanding its market share in 2022 by including additional crop types and entering into new partnerships with finance organisations that provide insured farmers with access to financing for agricultural production.
We have always considered the Ivorian market to be one of our top priorities, and thus we jumped at the possibility of launching OKO in that country this year.OKO’s co-founder and current CEO, Simon Schwall, stated: “We have high targets for the coming months ahead, and we are assembling exceptional partners for our expansion to be successful.”
OKO secured a seed investment of $1.2 million in April 2021.
The startup is currently doing business in Uganda and Mali, where it has helped more than fifteen thousand farmers get insurance.
