Skymet Weather Services has raised a Series C round from the InsuResilience Investment Fund. Set up on behalf of the German government by KfW and managed by Swiss-based impact investment manager BlueOrchard Finance, the InsuResilience Investment Fund has acquired a 26.8% stake in Skymet.
Skymet is India's largest weather monitoring and agri-risk solutions company, with expertise in measuring, predicting, and limiting climate risk to agriculture. Skymet provides climate, weather, and crop analytics to insurance companies, banks, agribusinesses, and public sector institutions in India. Skymet has India’s largest network of automatic weather stations (currently 6,000 AWS units) along with India’s only lightening detection network, which allows Skymet to track thunderstorms in real time. Over the past decade, Skymet has pioneered short, medium, and long-range weather forecasting in India. Through its activities, Skymet is reaching out to more than two million farmers.
The proceeds of the investment will help Skymet to expand its AWS network and secure new business in weather data, crop measurement, climate analytics, and disaster management, thereby extending its outreach to de-risk vulnerable Indian farmers from climate change.
The transaction also entails a partial secondary purchase of shares from existing investors, including Omnivore and DMGT. Omnivore is an impact venture fund that invests in startups from India developing breakthrough technologies for food, agriculture, and the rural economy. DMGT is a multinational portfolio of media, information and events businesses. The secondary portion of the investment is subject to regulatory approvals.
“With large parts of the population active in agriculture, India is particularly exposed to extreme weather events. Skymet has built technologies and instruments to mitigate weather risks, thereby supporting farmers to cope with the consequences of climate change. We are delighted to partner with Skymet in increasing the resilience of poor and vulnerable households in India” says Ernesto Costa, Co-Head of Private Equity at BlueOrchard.
“Climate change is India’s leading national security challenge. Between the year 1900 and 2000, there was one drought per decade in India; but between 2000 and 2017, there have been five droughts and two below-normal monsoons. As climate change accentuates rain variability over the subcontinent, India’s water tables are collapsing and farmer distress is increasing. This investment allows Skymet to further expand our capabilities in mitigating weather risks across India. We are delighted to partner with the InsuResilience Investment Fund and BlueOrchard on this journey. Their knowledge of climate change and insurance makes them an ideal partner for us” says Jatin Singh, Founder and Managing Director of Skymet.
Ernst & Young LLP acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Skymet for this transaction.
