Kenya’s smallholder farmers and gig economy workers may soon have more in common than meets the eye.
In the last two months, the Ministry of Agriculture, Birdview Insurance, Maisha Poa and ride-hailing platform Little separately unveiled insurance programmes targeting crop growers vulnerable to climate shocks, and taxi drivers who often lack basic health cover.
On the surface, the initiatives appear unrelated. But both highlight a deeper shift in Kenya’s insurance market-the growing reliance on fintech platforms to deliver affordable, accessible, and flexible protection to millions historically excluded from traditional insurance.
The common thread is insurance delivered in small, flexible, digital-friendly units.
Kenya’s insurance penetration remains among the lowest in Africa, under 3% of GDP, compared to South Africa’s 13%. For most Kenyans, cover has remained an abstract concept: expensive, urban-centric, and tied to formal employment.
Fintech is changing that. By embedding insurance into everyday transactions, fertilizer purchases, ride-hailing apps, mobile money wallets, it reduces barriers of cost, trust, and convenience.
The Ministry of Agriculture’s new Integrated Agricultural Insurance Programme is the latest attempt to shield smallholder farmers, who produce 70% of Kenya’s food, from climate disasters.
Piloting in 11 counties, the scheme will cover 250,000 farmers registered on the Kenya Integrated Agricultural Management Information System (KIAMIS). Each farmer will contribute KSh 7,000 per season, with premiums embedded in the subsidized fertilizer programme.
By linking insurance to fertilizer distribution, the government hopes to solve two problems at once: low farmer uptake of cover-less than 5% currently insured-and persistent inefficiencies in the fertilizer subsidy system. Enrollment will be automatic, removing the usual paperwork and delays that discourage farmers.
“The initiative is designed to de-risk smallholder farmers from climate-related threats, marking a major shift toward inclusive insurance at scale,” the ministry said.
“Agricultural insurance is a step in the right direction, especially now that climate-related risks are not a distant threat to our livelihoods,” said National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) MD Samuel Karogo.
Health Insurance on the Go
In Nairobi and other cities, taxi drivers on ride-hailing platforms face a different vulnerability, health risks without employer-linked cover. Few gig workers can afford traditional health insurance, where annual premiums are steep and payment flexibility is limited.
BirdView Insurance in partnership with Maisha Poa Insurance and Little, launched Mfanisi Go, a micro-health insurance plan tailored to drivers. For as little as KSh 82 per day-deducted from driver earnings-members can insure themselves and up to five dependents, access over 100 hospitals, and even consult doctors remotely via telemedicine.
By embedding insurance within the Little app, the programme eliminates friction, has no separate premiums, and cuts the need for long queues. Drivers simply work, earn, and automatically contribute toward cover.
These experiments are part of a continental wave. Airtel Money has rolled out six insurance products across five African markets. In Kenya, Safaricom, having secured an insurance licence in 2024, plans to extend protection to its 30 million M-PESA users, beginning with device insurance.
The common thread is insurance delivered in small, flexible, digital-friendly units. For farmers, this means seasonal cover tied to crop cycles. For drivers, it means daily or weekly health insurance contributions. For mobile subscribers, it means bundling insurance into existing mobile wallet usage.
“Mobile money-enabled insurance services tend to follow a formula: most MMPs that offer insurance partner with an insurance underwriter or technical service provider (or both). Partnerships with underwriters are necessary for licensing and risk carrying, while technical service providers design microproducts,” GSMA says in a recent report.
The use cases of fintech insurance, and the larger growth of insurtech, suggest players are seeking adaptable premium payments for different sectors and needs, taking into consideration such critical issues as cashflow, necessity, and convenience. Most traditional insurance products already include an option for staggered payments, but these tend to be rigid in frequency, and mostly offer flat rates without adapting to specific contexts.
But despite the fintech-driven revolution, challenges remain. Affordability will be a test, especially for farmers paying KSh 7,000 per season, and drivers already operating on razor thin margins. Many microinsurance schemes in Africa have struggled with sustainability when premiums fail to cover payouts. Regulatory oversight will also be critical to prevent misuse and ensure claims are honoured promptly, which means regulators will have to adapt fast since fintech and insurance are regulated differently and separately.
What is emerging is not just new products, but a new model of social protection. Instead of relying solely on government or employer-linked benefits, insurance is being woven into digital ecosystems where Kenyans already spend, earn, and transact.
If successful, this could help Kenya tackle two of its most pressing vulnerabilities, climate risk in agriculture and healthcare gaps in the informal and semi-formal sectors, while strengthening resilience in an economy where the vast majority work outside formal structures.
For now, both farmers in Kericho and drivers in Nairobi are part of the same experiment, proving whether fintech can turn insurance from a luxury into a lifeline.