On 10 September 2025, the SME Finance Forum hosted a new edition of its Virtual SME Marketplace, this time spotlighting Insurtech for Smallholder Farmers—a sector rapidly evolving through technology, data, and innovative partnerships. The session brought together leading insurtech and agtech companies working across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, all united by a shared ambition: making insurance more accessible, transparent, and impactful for smallholder farmers navigating rising climate risks.

Setting the Stage: IFC’s Experience in Asia

The session opened with insights on IFC’s experience with agricultural insurtech in Asia, offering a global lens on how technology is reshaping access to climate and crop insurance. This perspective provided a valuable contrast to the companies pitching in the session—each deeply rooted in African markets but connected through similar challenges: climate volatility, data gaps, last-mile distribution, and the need for faster, fairer claim processes.

About the SME Virtual Marketplace

Launched in 2021, the Marketplace has become a flagship platform for the SME Finance Forum, featuring over 150 companies, attracting 2,500+ participants, and sparking partnerships, investments, and innovation across the SME and fintech ecosystem. Each session follows a fast-paced format: companies deliver 7-minute pitches to an audience of financial institutions, DFIs, fintechs, and investors seeking new solutions.

Featured Companies & Their Innovations

This edition showcased six companies at the forefront of agricultural risk solutions:

• ADAPTA: AI-enabled risk management systems for banks, integrating climate, water, soil, and ecosystem data into agricultural lending workflows.

• PULA: A pioneer in parametric and digital agricultural insurance operating across Africa and Asia, reaching previously uninsured farmers.

• IBISA: A global climate insurtech using satellite monitoring and automated payout systems to deliver fast, objective, parametric insurance.

• One Acre Fund / One Acre Shield: Farmer-first insurance products built on rich household and agronomic data and supported by their own mission-aligned reinsurer, OAF Re.

• ACRE Africa: Scalable, data-driven insurance leveraging AI and digital platforms to protect over 4 million farmers across more than 19 African countries.

• Turaco: Micro-insurtech embedding life and credit life microinsurance into daily rural life, often bundled with partners like One Acre Fund and Apollo Agriculture.

Together, these companies illustrated how technology (from satellite imagery and drones to AI analytics and automated claims) can close protection gaps and strengthen resilience for millions of smallholder farmers.

The Role of GIIF

The session also aimed to highlight the work of the Global Inclusive Insurance Facility (GIIF), which supports insurtechs through funding, technical assistance, market development, and ecosystem-building across Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America & the Caribbean, and Asia-Pacific. GIIF plays a critical role in enabling scale for these solutions by strengthening local markets, building capacity, and advancing policy dialogue.

Why Insurtech Matters for Agriculture

Agriculture is increasingly exposed to climate shocks, from droughts to floods, that threaten livelihoods and food systems. Insights shared during the session emphasized:

• The importance of farmer-centric product design

• The need for faster, more reliable payout systems

• Lowering costs through tech-enabled distribution and automation

• The promise of integrated data systems, combining satellite imagery, weather data, soil information, and blockchain to improve transparency

Experiences from India and other markets showcased how technology can simplify products, speed up claims, reduce costs, and rebuild trust in agricultural insurance.

This Marketplace session underscored an essential truth: as climate risks intensify, the fusion of insurance and technology is no longer optional—it is foundational to protecting the world’s smallholder farmers.