Regional Insurtech Igloo announced that it has successfully “raised an additional $27 million in its Series B extension, bringing a close to its Series B funding round at $46 million.”
The initial Series B capital raise of $19M in March this year was “led by Cathay Innovation, with further investments from ACA and other existing investors including OpenSpace.”
This round of investment “comprised a consortium of impact investors including BlueOrchard, Women’s World Banking Asset Management (WAM)and Finnfund.”
The InsuResilience Investment Fund II, “initiated by German development bank KfW on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and development (BMZ) and managed by impact investor BlueOrchard Finance Ltd., led the capital extension, along with WAM, Finnfund, La Maison, and Series B lead investor, Cathay Innovation.”
Mahesh Joshi, Head of Private Equity Investments Asia at BlueOrchard, said:
“We see a profitable, sustainable and socially-conscious business model that we are proud to back. With its expertise, capabilities and technology to develop products and solutions that directly benefit our target groups, Igloo is well positioned to advance our mission to protect vulnerable communities from the consequences of climate change by strengthening their resilience.”
Rajat Arora, Head of Asia at WWB Asset Management, said:
“Women are a major contributor to the economic activity in SE Asia and Igloo’s technology-led impactful model plays a critical role in securing their financial resilience by making insurance accessible to the most vulnerable and underserved segments” We are proud to back a visionary and high-energy team that is disrupting the traditional insurance industry, and help it scale to the next stage of growth.”
Ulla-Maija Rantapuska, Investment Manager at Finnfund, commented:
”Finnfund is devoted to increasing the insurance coverage in emerging markets through its investments. We believe that digital insurance solutions can help break some of the barriers to inclusive insurance and we are looking forward to a partnership with Igloo as we share the same goal: making insurance accessible and affordable for all.”
The latest investment round “marks the confidence that investors have in the continued stellar performance of Igloo as it brings insurance coverage to large uninsured and underinsured segments in Southeast Asia.”
To date, Igloo has “been on a strong growth trajectory having cemented partnerships with over 55 companies across 7 countries and over 15 products in its expanding product suite.”
It has “facilitated over 300 million policies and increased gross written premiums by 30 times since 2019.”
Since its inception, Igloo has “been making insurance accessible and affordable through data and technology in Southeast Asia, and is the only insurtech in the region with all major economies contributing to its performance.”
Igloo has “championed financial inclusion for underserved communities across the region to help build a more sustainable future in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).”
It has “been at the forefront of addressing underinsurance for gig economy segments by providing comprehensive and competitively-priced insurance for delivery riders, through its Foodpanda partnerships in Thailand, Singapore, and the Philippines, as well as Lozi and Ahamove in Vietnam.”
Just recently, Igloo launched “its first parametric Weather Index Insurance product in Vietnam – one of the top five rice exporting countries.”
Utilizing blockchain-based smart contracts the product “automates claims payouts calculated using pre-assigned values for losses due to weather events or natural calamities – alleviating the loss of yield and livelihoods that paddy farmers face during adverse weather events.”
It is Vietnam’s first parametric insurance and “the company’s first integration of smart contracts into insurance.”
The additional funds “provide Igloo with a comfortable multi-year runway.”
With 50% of Igloo’s team committed to research & development, the company plans “to double down on attracting the best engineering, product, design and data talent across all geographies. Igloo is also in the process of identifying and closing on various M&A opportunities to help it move swiftly towards its vision for ‘Insurance for All’.”
Raunak Mehta, Co-Founder and CEO, Igloo, said:
“The support from our investors underlines the value of our technology proposition in making insurance accessible and affordable for the underserved communities, especially gig economy workers and MSMEs. As a leading insurtech firm in Southeast Asia, building sustainable ecosystems is a prerequisite for us. We are now well positioned to leverage our expertise and accelerate our growth across the region and further strengthen our products and services portfolio that addresses the traditional insurance gaps.”