[Funding alert] Rural insurtech startup GramCover raises $7M in Series A round

Noida-based rural insurtech startup GramCover on Monday said it raised a Series A round worth $7 million co-led by Siana Capital and Inflexor Ventures. Stride Ventures also participated in this round, alongside existing investors Omidyar Network India, Flourish Ventures, and Emphasis Ventures (EMVC). 

GramCover has adopted a unique technology-led distribution and servicing model customised for rural India to minimise the inefficiencies and transaction costs involved in protecting people’s assets and families.  

With this fundraise, the startup will enhance the availability of various insurance products and services on the “GramCover Partner” application and expand its point of sale network, tech, sales, and operation teams across multiple geographies.

Speaking on the development, Dinesh Goel, Partner, Siana Capital, said,

"GramCover team has understood the key nuances of scaling up the non-urban segment of insurance distribution which is a gigantic opportunity in India. With a solid end-to-end deep technology platform, in conjunction with a human assisted local agency network, we feel GramCover is well-positioned to continue its high-growth trajectory. Further, the business model helps achieve the twin objectives of profitable growth and providing livelihood risk protection to a large rural population of India."

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Pratip Mazumdar, Partner of Inflexor Ventures, added, 

"Our investment in GramCover stems from Inflexor's conviction in backing technology-led enterprises, working towards deepening the insurance penetration to create a meaningful impact in a large, under-insured market. We believe GramCover will play a pivotal role in radically transforming the insurance landscape of Bharat."

GramCover started its journey in 2018 by insuring 1000 farmers. In FY21, the startup worked with over 1.7 million rural customers, providing insurance across products like crop, motor, livestock, and health worth Rs 1.1 billion in premiums.

The insurtech startup aims to insure over 10 million farmers in the next two to three years, with a premium target of Rs 10 billion. During this period, it also aims to deepen its footprint in states with already a presence, including Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, etc., and further extend to other states. 

Dhyanesh Bhatt, Co-founder and Group CEO, at GramCover, said, 

“We are excited about our Series A fundraise with seasoned tech-focussed investors like Siana Capital and Inflexor. We at GramCover will be strengthened by their deep-tech domain expertise and their startup experience as we work towards building growth and profitability focussed rural insurtech organisation.”

Jatin Singh, Founder and Managing Director, GramCover, said,

“My vision of starting GramCover has been to provide a comprehensive cover to rural India. I believe that the security of the village, the cow, the car, the crop, and the disease is our responsibility.”

Unitus Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor to the company on the transaction.