The startup claims over 15,000 farmers supported in Mali and Uganda. Its ambition is to expand further in the African market, starting from Côte d’Ivoire. 

OKO is a digital platform developed by Malian startup OKO Finance Limited, founded in 2018 by Raphael Haziza, Shehzad Lokhandwalla, and Simon Schwall.  It helps smallholder farmers access affordable crop insurance.  

“OKO is a different type of for-profit business making a global impact one farmer at a time. [...] We provide effective, affordable insurance to farmers in emerging markets and deliver instant claim settlements. By leveraging the increasing influence of mobile technology, we aim to help overcome income distribution insufficiencies for those who feed the world," the startup explains. 

Therefore, with just their non-smartphones, users can access OKO crop insurance services. To enable that feature, the startup signed numerous partnerships with Orange Mali, and German financial services multinational Allianz to optimize its products. It assesses the risks and set subscription prices based on detailed weather information. 

The platform is accessible via a USSD code, and a mobile app. The mobile app is an alternative to the USSD code. It also has a programming interface that allows partners to access relevant information. It has a set of tools (for reporting, performance tracking, and secured archiving) to improve the management of its various insurance policies.

Thanks to the crop insurance initiative, OKO Finance Limited has received several awards and recognitions. These include the international award at Finance for Tomorrow's Climate Finance Day in November 2019, the FinTech Showcase 2019 award at the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) Global Policy Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, the Job Creation Award at the Seedstars 2019 Summit organized in Johannesburg by the African Development Bank (AfDB). Since its creation, the startup has completed several rounds totaling US$2.1 million to support its growth.  Currently, it is active in Mali and Uganda. It plans to enter the Ivorian market in the next few months. 

Adoni Conrad Quenum