Previsico lands InsuResilience grant to bring flood forecasting to South Africa

Previsico , a UK flood intelligence startup, has secured a grant from the InsuResilience Investment Fund , managed by BlueOrchard Finance , to expand into Africa. The company will begin in South Africa, targeting regions long underserved by insurance and risk infrastructure.

Previsico, built on peer-reviewed research from Loughborough University, offers property-level flood forecasting. Its live hydrodynamic modelling combines LiDAR, drainage data, land use mapping, and real-time weather inputs — validated by an IoT sensor network — to deliver warnings up to 48 hours ahead.

South Africa was chosen for its acute flood exposure, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal. Phase 1 delivered proof-of-concept deployments in Durban in the first half of 2026; Phase 2, launching this month, extends to Cape Town, Johannesburg, and other high-risk areas ahead of a national scale-up.

Global flood-related losses are projected to reach $850 billion annually by 2050. "Capital alone won't close the insurance protection gap in emerging markets," said Richard Hardy, head of private equity Africa at BlueOrchard.

Previsico is already active across the UK, Europe, and the Americas. Its technology runs with insurers including Zurich and Liberty, brokers Marsh and Lockton, and 200 corporates worldwide.

The grant reflects a growing push to close protection gaps in emerging markets with predictive technology rather than capital alone. For Previsico, Africa marks the next stage of an international expansion built on climate risk data.