Reimagining protection: our journey launching parametric insurance in Zimbabwe

JP Fabri, Founder, MyUbuntu

In Zimbabwe, agriculture is not simply an economic sector. It is a way of life. Across the country, smallholder farmers rise with the sun, guided by seasons that have grown increasingly unpredictable. Climate change has rewritten the rules of farming, yet for decades, the systems designed to protect farmers have remained slow, complex, and out of reach for those who need them most.

This is the gap MyUbuntu set out to address.

Our journey into parametric insurance in Zimbabwe did not begin with technology or data. It began with a belief: that protection is not a privilege, but a right. That farmers who feed the nation deserve tools that are fair, transparent, and built around their realities, not imported assumptions.

Zimbabwe’s agricultural backbone rests on more than 1.5 million smallholder farming households. Most cultivate less than five hectares and rely almost entirely on rainfall. Maize, grown by around 90 percent of these farmers, is both a staple crop and a barometer of national stability. When rains fail, the consequences ripple far beyond individual fields into food security, inflation, and livelihoods.

Yet despite facing some of the highest climate risks, more than 95 percent of smallholder maize farmers in Zimbabwe have never been insured. Those who had encountered insurance often described it as complicated, slow, and disconnected from their lived experience. This reality called for a fundamentally different approach.

The MyUbuntu pilot project was our first step in rewriting this story.

Launched in rural Zimbabwe, the pilot introduced precipitation-based parametric insurance to smallholder maize farmers. Unlike traditional indemnity insurance, parametric insurance does not wait for losses to be assessed. Instead, it relies on objective, independently verified data. When predefined thresholds are met, payouts are triggered automatically. No claims forms. No delays. No ambiguity.

At the heart of the pilot was a simple but powerful question: could insurance become a source of confidence rather than fear?

Working alongside local partners, agronomists, insurers, and a development bank, we co-designed a product that reflected the real risks farmers face: drought and excess rainfall. The index was built using trusted satellite rainfall data, translating seasonal conditions into clear, transparent triggers. Coverage was bundled with agricultural input loans, protecting both farmers and lenders. Farmers were shielded from catastrophic loss, while the bank could lend with greater confidence.

Crucially, MyUbuntu funded 100 percent of the insurance premiums for this initial cohort. This was not a subsidy in the traditional sense. It was a deliberate investment in learning, trust, and ecosystem-building. By removing cost barriers, we enabled farmers, insurers, and institutions to focus on understanding how parametric insurance works in practice, from data flows to payout logic. The goal was not short-term uptake, but long-term sustainability.

Over 100 farmers across Manicaland and Masvingo took part in the pilot. The 2024/25 growing season turned out to be a good one. Rainfall was above historical medians, and maize yields reached up to three tonnes per hectare, well above recent national averages. No payouts were triggered.

For some, this might sound like a disappointment. In reality, it was a powerful validation.

The absence of payouts did not mean the absence of impact. On the contrary, it demonstrated that the index performed exactly as intended. It reflected real conditions on the ground. It confirmed that payouts would arrive when they should, and only when they should. Farmers reported increased confidence to invest in their crops. The bank extended credit it might otherwise have withheld. Trust was built across the ecosystem.

Perhaps most importantly, farmers gained something rarely associated with insurance: understanding. They could see how rainfall data translated into protection. They could follow the logic. Insurance became something done with them, not to them.

This matters deeply in a country where recent memory includes devastating droughts. In the 2023/24 season, maize production fell by over 70 percent. Floods in previous years wiped out entire harvests. These are not abstract risks. They are lived experiences that trap families in cycles of vulnerability.

Parametric insurance does not promise to eliminate these risks. What it offers is dignity in the face of uncertainty. It offers speed when time matters most. It offers clarity where there has long been confusion.

For us at MyUbuntu, this pilot was never just about one product or one season. It was about proving that a different model of insurance is possible in Africa. One that is data-driven but deeply human. One that works with local institutions rather than around them. One grounded in the philosophy of ubuntu: I am because we are.

The lessons from this pilot now guide our next steps. We are refining indices, expanding partnerships, and preparing to scale across Zimbabwe and beyond. The groundwork has been laid. The demand is clear. The potential is immense.

This is just the beginning. But it is a beginning rooted in trust, collaboration, and a shared belief that protection, when done right, can be a foundation for resilience, inclusion, and hope.