Mali: Mali-based insurtech OKO raises $500k seed extension round for Ivory Coast expansion

Malian insurtech startup OKO has raised a US$500,000 seed extension round to help it expand to Ivory Coast and work towards a Series A.

Founded in 2017, OKO develops affordable mobile-based crop insurance products to provide smallholder farmers with the financial security they need, regardless of unstable climate trends. The startup operates in Mali and Uganda and has so far brought insurance to more than 15,000 farmers.

OKO saw an impressive 6x growth in the number of paying customers from 2020 to 2021 and is continuing to expand its reach in 2022, with new crops covered, and new partnerships signed with financial institutions providing agricultural loans to insured farmers.

It has now closed an extension round of US$500,000 and announced plans to launch in the Ivory Coast with existing partners Orange, Allianz and Touton. The extension round came from global impact-tech accelerator Katapult, along with three business angels – Guillaume Leenhardt (CEO at Gentle Finance), Henry Allard (CEO of Filhet-Allard Maritime), and Lionel Dorie founding partner of Augusta Energy Group). OKO’s seed investment was secured in April 2021 and was worth US$1.2 million.

“Ivory Coast has always been a priority market for us, so when we saw the opportunity to launch OKO there this year we jumped on it. We are bringing strong partners to make this expansion a success and we have big ambitions for the months to come,” said Simon Schwall, Co-founder and CEO of OKO.