- Cathay Innovation led Igloo’s initial Series B funding round in March this year with further investments from ACA, La Maison and OpenSpace
- The BlueOrchard-managed InsuResilience Investment Fund II led the most recent funding round, along with Women’s World Banking Asset Management-managed WWB Capital Partners II, L.P. fund (“WWBCP II”), Finnfund, La Maison, and Series B lead investor Cathay Innovation
- B+ funding round highlights the support of impact investors for Igloo’s role in making insurance inclusive through improved accessibility and affordability for all
- Recent funding round will support enhancement of engineering capacity and infrastructure; acquisition of intermediaries and the launch of new products such as index-based crop insurance in Southeast Asia
- To date, Igloo is the only insurtech in Southeast Asia with all major economies–Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, and Malaysia–contributing to its performance
SINGAPORE, 29 November 2022 – Regional insurtech Igloo announced today that it has successfully raised an additional US$27 million in its Series B extension, bringing a close to its Series B funding round at US$46 million. The initial Series B capital raise of US$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.
“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”, said Mahesh Joshi, Head of Private Equity Investments Asia at BlueOrchard. “We see a profitable, sustainable and socially-conscious business model that we are proud to back.”
“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”, said Rajat Arora, Head of Asia at WWB Asset Management. 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.
”Finnfund is devoted to increasing the insurance coverage in emerging markets through its investments”, said Ulla-Maija Rantapuska, Investment Manager at Finnfund. “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 funding 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’.
“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.” said Raunak Mehta, Co-Founder and CEO, Igloo.
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About Igloo:
Igloo is the first full-stack insurtech firm to emerge from Singapore. It has offices in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, The Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia and tech centres in China and India. With a mission of making insurance accessible for all, the firm leverages big data, real-time risk assessment, and end-to-end automated claims management to create B2B2C insurance solutions for platform companies and insurance companies. Igloo’s insurance solutions enable companies to eliminate their exposure to operational risk, create new revenue streams, and optimise and enhance existing products and services. Igloo has partnered with over 55 well-known brand names across the markets in various verticals, including insurance, telecommunications, e-commerce, hospitality, health tech and financial services.
For more information, please visit https://iglooinsure.com/.
About BlueOrchard:
BlueOrchard is a leading global impact investment manager and member of the Schroders Group. As a pioneering impact investor, the firm is dedicated to generating lasting positive impact for communities and the environment, while aiming at providing attractive returns to investors. BlueOrchard was founded in 2001, by initiative of the UN, as the first commercial manager of microfinance debt investments worldwide. Today, the firm offers impact investment solutions across asset classes, connecting millions of entrepreneurs in emerging and frontier markets with investors with the aim to make impact investment solutions accessible to all and to advance the conscious use of capital. Being a professional investment manager and expert in innovative blended finance mandates, BlueOrchard has a sophisticated international investor base and is a trusted partner of leading global development finance institutions. To date, BlueOrchard has invested over USD 9.8bn across more than 105 countries. Over 255 million poor and vulnerable people in emerging and frontier markets received access to financial and related services with the support of BlueOrchard as of June 2022. For additional information, please visit: www.blueorchard.com
About Women’s World Banking Asset Management:
Women’s World Banking designs and invests in the financial solutions, institutions, and policy environments in emerging markets to create greater economic stability and prosperity for women, their families, and their communities. Women’s World Banking Asset Management (“WAM”) invests in innovative inclusive finance companies in the emerging markets, guiding them to capture the substantial market share of financially under-served women and the substantial talent pool of women staff and leaders. WAM’s first Fund was a pioneer of gender-focused impact investing in inclusive financial service providers. WWBCP II expands the gender-focused investment strategy in innovative financial service providers, with a dedicated technical assistance facility to help portfolio companies achieve strategic objectives toward gender inclusion. To learn more about WAM at Women’s World Banking, visit https://www.womensworldbanking.org/asset-management/.
About Finnfund:
Finnfund is a Finnish development financier and impact investor. We build a sustainable future and generate lasting impact by investing in businesses that solve global development challenges. We invest 200–250 million euros in 20–30 companies in developing countries each year. Our focus sectors include renewable energy, sustainable forestry, sustainable agriculture, financial institutions, and digital infrastructure and solutions. Today Finnfund’s investments, commitments, and investment decisions total about 1.12 billion euros, half of them in Africa. The company has 90 employees. For more information, please visit www.finnfund.fi
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