Managing Director - Pula Re

About Pula

We are an insuretech firm that provides agriculture insurance design and execution services, specialising in index based insurance and are backed by top tier VC investors who have invested more than $25 million in the business. Since 2015 we have provided climate insurance to 15.4 million smallholder farmers, 41% of which were women across 19 markets in Africa and Asia who pay an average of $6.8 per season to insure their crops. So far we've unlocked over $2.22 billion of capital from local and international insurance markets for climate risks since we started in 2015 and paid out $40.8 million to our client farmers.

Pula is a fast-paced space, constantly adapting to new opportunities and challenges and we are made up of a high-performance, multi-cultural team. We expect our team to value performance, results and professionalism.

At Pula, our values are: 

• Obsessed with results: We are responsible for our future and therefore we get things done!
• Connect the Dots: We continuously identify different customer needs & business problems and build solutions that deliver value.
• Have a Can do Attitude! We dare to do things differently to make things work.
• We have each others’ back: We look out for each other & we share high quality, timely feedback that makes us better. 

According to the UN’s InterGovernmental Panel for Climate Change more than 3.3 billion people globally live in hotspots with high vulnerability to climate change and are now already feeling the impact of climate change through increased temperatures and increasingly erratic rainfall. 
Insurance is a tool for vulnerable households in these affected regions to adapt to the effects that climate change is already having today on these households. It is a tool that enables for compensation payment for losses and damages that these households had no part in causing. Insurance compensation enables these households to make adjustments to their day to day livelihoods and practices and therefore allows for an equitable and just transition.

At Pula, we are building the systems that enable farmers worldwide to access insurance, using technology to insure this previously uninsured worldwide. We work in over 17 countries across Africa and Asia, and by 2021, have facilitated crop insurance cover to over 6 million farmers, 30% of which are women, across Kenya, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Rwanda, Uganda, Nigeria, Mali, Senegal, Zambia, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Tanzania, Mozambique and Malawi. We are a for profit, and have raised over $10 million from leading venture and institutional investors as well as developed philanthropic relationships with private foundations and bilateral donors such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and German Insure Resilience Solutions Fund that have accelerated investments in our target markets.

Pula is proudly fast paced, constantly learning from the challenges we face and overcome. We are proudly culturally diverse but united in our ambition of continuous high-performance. By challenging ourselves we believe that we can overcome the hard problems we love solving. 

At Pula, our culture is defined by our: 

1.Obsessed with results: We are responsible for our future and therefore we get things done!

2. Ability to connect the Dots: We continuously identify different customer needs & business problems and build solutions that deliver value.

3. Our Can do Attitude! We dare to do things differently to make things work.

4. Ability to have each others’ back: We look out for each other & we share high quality, timely feedback that makes us better.

The Opportunity

The company is looking to hire an extraordinary Founding Pula Re Managing Director who will report to the Pula Re Board of Directors.
If you’re a visionary leader with a proven track record of shattering conventions, a commercial powerhouse with deep reinsurance expertise and a passion for unlocking Africa’s untapped potential, this is your moment. Join us to reshape the future of reinsurance and create a lasting impact.

As the Founding Managing Director of Pula Re, you will be the Architect of a bold chapter in African reinsurance. You’ll lead the strategy, operations and growth of a dynamic reinsurer designed to address the unmet needs of Africa and Asian insurance markets. With a base salary, bonus structure and an exceptionally attractive ownership structure, this role offers a mix of the challenge, growth, and financial upside of owning a piece of a game-changing venture.

You will operate at the intersection of innovation, leadership, impact, forging partnerships with insurers, reimagining how reinsurance solves their pain points, and challenging the status quo of a traditional industry. This is a rare opportunity to build something from the ground up, backed by Pula’s proven track record and global vision.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Pula Re senior management team to coordinate and develop strategy and Board Approved KPIs for a 3-year rolling strategic business plan and proactively manage delivery against KPIs and/or reset targets as Pula Re better understands the market and opportunities.
• Shape the Vision & Strategy: Define and execute a bold strategy to position Pula Reinsurance as the go-to partner for African insurers, addressing gaps ignored by incumbent reinsurers.
• Drive Commercial Success: Build and nurture high-value relationships with African insurance companies, securing partnerships and hitting ambitious commercial targets.
• Deliver Results: Achieve measurable outcomes, from revenue growth to market penetration, while driving operational excellence.
• Innovate & Disrupt: Challenge conventional reinsurance models by designing solutions that solve insurers’ pain points, from product innovation to operational efficiency.
• Lead with Impact: Build and inspire a high-performing team, fostering a culture of innovation, accountability, and excellence.
• Market & Influence: Act as the face of Pula Reinsurance, leveraging your marketing acumen to amplify our brand and thought leadership across Africa and beyond.
• Navigate Regulatory Landscapes: Ensure compliance with Bermuda’s regulatory framework and African insurance regulations, maintaining a robust governance structure.

What you need to be successful

To thrive in this role, you must be a trailblazer with an unrelenting drive to challenge the status quo. You’re not here to follow—you’re here to lead, innovate, and rewrite the rules of reinsurance in Africa. Here’s what you bring:

• Proven Commercial Track Record: You have at least 10 - 15 years work experience with a history of smashing revenue targets and forging strategic partnerships, ideally with African insurers. This is either in a reinsurance brokerage role, reinsurance role or even as a Executive in an insurance company
• Reinsurance Expertise: Deep technical understanding of reinsurance structures, risk transfer mechanisms, and insurer-reinsurer dynamics.
• African Market Mastery: Extensive relationships with African insurance companies and a nuanced grasp of the continent’s diverse insurance ecosystems.
• Visionary Leadership: A bold thinker with a record of transforming whatever they work on, coupled with the ability to inspire and rally teams around a shared mission.
• Entrepreneurial DNA: A knack for doing things differently, with strong views on how reinsurance can evolve to address Africa’s unique challenges.
• Marketing Savvy: Exceptional ability to craft compelling narratives, build brand equity, and position Pula Reinsurance as a market leader.
• Regulatory Acumen: Working knowledge of reinsurance compliance, particularly in Bermuda and African jurisdictions.
• Results Obsession: A relentless focus on outcomes, with the ability to translate vision into measurable impact.

Personal Attributes

• Trailblazer: You thrive on breaking new ground and have a history of turning bold ideas into reality.
• Disruptor: You see gaps where others see norms and have the courage to challenge entrenched practices.
• Charismatic Leader: You inspire trust, motivate teams, and build lasting relationships with stakeholders.
• Innovative Thinker: You’re always one step ahead, designing solutions that anticipate market needs.
• Resilient & Adaptable: You navigate ambiguity with confidence and pivot swiftly in dynamic environments.
• Impact-Driven: You’re motivated by creating meaningful change, not just chasing profits.

Why Join Pula Re?

• Be a Founder: Build a reinsurer from the ground up and shape its destiny.
• Own Your Impact: Benefit from a highly attractive ownership structure that rewards your success.
• Transform Lives: Solve critical challenges for African insurers, enabling them to protect millions of lives and livelihoods.
• Global Backing, Local Impact: Leverage Pula’s global expertise and resources to drive change across Africa.
• Unleash Your Vision: Operate with autonomy to innovate, disrupt, and lead in a high-growth environment.

 

What Pula will bring to the table

• Growth potential: At Pula, we are building the systems that enable farmers worldwide to access insurance, using technology to insure this previously uninsured worldwide. We work in over 19 countries across Africa and Asia, and by 2023, have facilitated crop insurance cover to over 5 million farmers, 40% of which are women. We are a for profit, and have raised over $25 million from leading venture and institutional investors as well as developed philanthropic relationships with private foundations and bilateral donors such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and German Insure Resilience Solutions Fund that have accelerated investments in our target markets.
• Market Leader: Not only is the opportunity massive, but Pula is by far the market leader in it’s category with 11m farmers insured as of 2023.
• Solid: Pula has been funded by leading venture capital investors (Omidyar Network, ACCION, MercyCorps) and global philanthropic institutions (MasterCard Foundation, CGAP/World Bank as well as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation). Pula closed an oversubscribed $20m series B funding despite the economic downturn.
  
   
• Respected: Winner of the Singapore FinTech Festival 2019, Winner of The InsureTech of the Award, Africa. Featured on TED talks, The New York Times, The Economist.
• Impact and creation: This is a high-impact role, that offers a unique opportunity to bring the company to the next level, whilst developing new strategies, approaches and ideas.
• Leadership: The founders & CEO foster a culture of transparency, respect, high performance, pragmatism, execution and personal development.
• Purpose: It is rare to find a professional opportunity that offers accelerated professional development and a life purpose. Pula is going through a second phase of accelerated growth that will naturally provide professional development, whilst contributing to the financial stability of small farmers in the emerging markets.
• Remuneration: Competitive base salary accordingly with seniority and experience, commission on closed sales and an employee share option plan that offers an attractive equity upside.

To learn more about Pula you can visit

TED Talk: Crop Insurance, an Idea Worth Seeding
New York Times: He Grew up on a Farm. Now, He Helps Protect Them
The Economist: The Poor, Who Most Need Insurance, Are Least Likely to Have It

How to apply

Fill out the form below, and upload a resume in English.

Pula’s mission is to provide farmer resilience. To achieve this, we put our small holder farmers that use our services and the employees that provide them at the heart of everything we do. For that purpose, Pula was created to be an equal opportunity employer that celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.