E-Business
TLcom Leads $6mn Series A Fund in Pula
Pula, an African InsureTech service provider startup that specializes in digital and agricultural insurance to derisk millions of smallholder farmers across Africa, has closed a $6mn Series A fund raise.
The Series A fund was led by TLcom Capital, with the participation of Women’s World Banking. The new investment will be used to scale up operations in the company’s existing 13 markets across Africa. Currently, Pula has impacted over 4.3mn farmers on the continent and the new funding will also help propel its expansion into Asia to power resilience and profitability for Asian smallholder farmers.
Launched in 2015 by Rose Goslinga and Thomas Njeru, Pula designs and delivers innovative agricultural insurance and digital products to help smallholder farmers endure climate risks, improve their farming practices and bolster their incomes over time.
For smallholder farmers in emerging markets, the traditional method of calculating insurance through farm visits is often unaffordable for farmers, meaning these farmers are often neglected from financial protection against climate risks.
Through its Area Yield Index Insurance product, Pula leverages machine learning, crop cuts experiments and data points relating to weather patterns and farmer losses to build products which caters for a variety of risks including drought, excessive rainfall, pests and diseases.
The company’s key clientele include the likes of the World Food Programme, Central Bank of Nigeria, Zambian Government & the Kenyan Government. Pula has also launched an NDVI Livestock insurance as an offering for livestock farmers.
Speaking on the new fundraise, Co-Founder and Co-CEO at Pula, Rose Goslinga, says “When Thomas and I launched Pula in 2015, we had one goal in mind – to build and deliver scalable insurance solutions for Africa’s 700mn smallholder farmers and with our latest funding, now is the time to break into new ground.
“In our five years since launching, we’ve built strong traction for our products but the fact remains that across Africa and other emerging markets, there are still millions of smallholder farmers with risks to their livelihoods that have not been covered.”
“In the midst of a global pandemic, farmers need assurances now more than ever and with this in mind, it’s time to scale up. Having TLcom Capital and Women’s World Banking along on the journey with us, opens up many more opportunities as we build across the continent and beyond.”
Through its partnerships with banks, governments and agricultural input companies, Pula is at the center of an ecosystem which provides insurance to smallholder farmers and has amassed 50 insurance partners, as well as six reinsurance partners.
In December 2020, the startup was named as the “InsurTech of the Year” at the African Insurance Awards 2020 held in Lagos, Nigeria. As part of the new fundraise, TLcom’s Senior Partner Omobola Johnson will join Pula’s Board.
Maurizio Caio, Managing Partner and Founder at TLcom Capital, states “In Pula, we found a company addressing a hugely underserved market in one of Africa’s key drivers of growth and with this, an opportunity for major economic upside.
The potential for the insurance market for smallholder farmers in Africa is huge and under the leadership of Rose and Thomas, Pula has rapidly established a strong presence throughout the continent and has a number of high-profile clients on their books. We are confident of Pula’s potential for growth in spite of the pandemic and look forward to partnering with them as they execute the next phase of their journey.”
Christina Juhasz, CIO at Women’s World Banking, also states “Given the legions of women engaged in small-hold farming and securing the food supply for communities around the globe, Women’s World Banking is delighted to partner with Pula Advisors in providing them financial safety nets against the risks of pests, disease and climate change”.
In 2018, Pula announced the close of its $1mn seed round from Rocher Participations with support from Accion Venture Lab, Omidyar Network and several angel investors. Previous funders have included the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Mulago Foundation and Mercy Corps Social Ventures and the company presence in Africa currently extends to Senegal, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique.
Nigeria needs some 480,000 data protection officers (DPOs), to develop, implement, and oversee organizations’ data privacy strategy to ensure compliance with laws like the GDPR and the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA).
Currently only about 10,000 individuals possess the necessary certification highlighting a major skills gap, according Vincent Olatunji, national commissioner, Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC).
Olatunji spoke on Monday at the second edition of its Data Protection Officers training and certification programme in Abuja and Lagos.
He said that the NDPC has domesticated the certification of data protection officers (DPOs) to address the widening gap in certified DPOs, despite steady growth in the number of trained professionals over the past three years.
“At the moment, we have about 10,000 certified DPOs to work in that space. The gap of about 480,000 still exists,” he said.
The shortfall reflects rising demand for data privacy skills as more businesses, government agencies and digital platforms process personal data under the Nigeria Data Protection Act.
Olatunji said the number of certified DPOs has grown from fewer than 1,000 three years ago to over 10,000, while more than 27,000 professionals now operate within Nigeria’s wider data protection ecosystem.
He said the commission is scaling up training and certification efforts to close the gap and position Nigeria as a leading source of data protection talent in Africa.
“Our goal is to make Nigeria the go-to country when it comes to sourcing qualified data protection officers in Africa,” he said, adding that the certification meets global standards.
The NDPC said expanding the talent pool could also support job creation and strengthen trust in Nigeria’s digital economy.
Tolu Fadipe, head of research and development at the commission, said data protection is becoming critical as the country moves deeper into digital systems and emerging technologies.
“As we move towards a digital economy, data becomes central and protecting that data is essential,” she said.
Adeola Sopade, lead trainer, said participants in the programme would be trained on global best practices, including data protection principles, compliance requirements and handling user data requests.
The training also includes practical exposure and internships with organisations to improve job readiness.
Participants said the programme offers opportunities for young Nigerians to build careers in technology and prepare for emerging fields such as artificial intelligence.
Federal government has inaugurated the Electronic Pharmacy Regulation Platform (E-Pharmacy) to enhance the safety of online healthcare services.
Pic credit….healthreporters.info
The platform, championed by the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN), is designed to regulate digital pharmaceutical services and improve public health outcomes.
Inaugurating the platform, Prof. Ali Pate, coordinating minister of Health and Social Welfare, said the initiative signified Nigeria’s commitment to building a world-class regulatory environment.
Pate noted that pharmacy regulation had faced significant challenges for over three decades but expressed optimism that the new platform would strengthen oversight and accountability.
He said the initiative would enable evidence-based monitoring of pharmaceutical practices while supporting innovation and investment in the health sector.
“This launch is a testament to our collective commitment to advancing technology in the service of health, safety and human dignity.
“It is a decisive step to ensure that pharmaceutical practice in Nigeria aligns with national and global health priorities, reflecting the realities of the 21st century.
“It enables the country to adopt evidence-based approaches to monitoring and protecting public health while supporting innovation and investment,” he said.
The minister added that the platform would help establish a safe, accessible and well-regulated national e-pharmacy ecosystem driven by digital technology.
Earlier, Alhaji Ibrahim Ahmed, registrar/chief executive officer of PCN, said the need to regulate online pharmacy operations became more urgent during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ahmed said the pandemic accelerated the adoption of digital tools and e-commerce in healthcare, exposing longstanding inefficiencies in pharmaceutical supply chains, particularly in Africa and Nigeria.
“This has led to the increasing adoption of digitised distribution of essential medicines through cost-effective and technology-enabled models.
“For decades, PCN has regulated pharmacy education, training, practice and business in Nigeria. However, as the world shifts towards digital solutions, access to medicines has evolved.
“The Electronic Pharmacy Regulations 2026 provide a comprehensive legal and technical framework for the registration, licensing, operation and oversight of digital pharmaceutical services,” he said.
He added that the framework would ensure that ethical standards and patient safety are not compromised in the delivery of online pharmaceutical services.
Olugbenga Agboola, CEO, Flutterwave, has announced plans to establish Anambra State as the company’s hub for Nigeria’s South East, leveraging a fresh banking license from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to boost local fintech and businesses.
Flutterwave
Agboola made the disclosure yesterday in Awka during a meeting with Anambra tech community leaders, hosted alongside Dr. Stanley Uzochukwu, CEO, Stanel Group and proprietor, Delborough Hotel.
He highlighted Flutterwave’s status as Africa’s leading payment system, born in Nigeria, with infrastructure powering companies nationwide.
“We want Anambra to be our hub for the entire South East,” Agboola said. “We’ll deploy our systems, fees, infrastructure, and POS terminals to every small business and large firm here, making our services the top consumer choice.”
Agboola pledged a massive impact program for Anambra entrepreneurs to foster global platforms from the state, enabled by the new license for faster growth.
For a decade, Flutterwave has facilitated payments, but now aims to empower South East businesses through partnerships, POS access, loans, and value for SMEs.
“We’re partnering on a huge impact program launching soon—impacting the tech community with technology, financing, and lending to create more millionaires from this city,” he added.
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