Happy Friday readers, 

I recently, depending on how generous you are with the term ‘recent’, moved into a new flat. One of the tasks I have been putting off is setting up contents insurance. When I saw the huge Urban Jungle ad campaign on the Tube, I couldn’t help but feel a bit attacked.

I couldn’t put it off any longer, and started looking up “ethical contents insurance”.  The results of my query helped me cross a boring life admin task off my to-do list, and doubled as inspiration for this week’s newsletter. I was introduced to the world of insurtech - the technology behind the creation, distribution and administration of insurance businesses.

The first thing that became immediately apparent was the size of the insurtech market in the UK. In fact, the industry is one of the fastest growing in the fintech space and last year UK insurtech companies received £262M - a rise of 60% from 2019. 

In Europe, 2021 has already broken every record for European insurtech and the space has a number of unicorns already. 

Today we’re going to be talking about some of the first movers in this space who cross the intersection between tech for good and insurtech. We’ll also look at the industry as a whole, where it’s heading and highlight the black founders who are making waves in an industry where the “gatekeepers are white males”. 

Hope you enjoy and have a great weekend, 

Liv 
Tech for good global team
 

#Insurtech - we got you covered 🥁

👀 The 18 insurtech startups to watch according to top VC. 

📈 The insurtech space has rocketed in recent years - this piece makes five predictions for the future. 

🍋 The founders of Lemonade say that they wanted to address the asymmetry of power inherent to insurance and claim to be the ‘world’s first open source insurance policy.’ They are also a certified B Corp and a Public Benefit Corporation. Founded in 2015 - they were one of the first movers in this space.  

🏡 Habito closed a Series C round at £35M last year. They also claim to be the first-ever B Corp certified mortgage companies. Frequently on ‘scaleups to watch’ lists, this is one to keep an eye on.  

🌿 Habito was also a founding member of Tech Zero from Tech Nation - a climate action group for tech companies committed to fighting the climate crisis. You can find out more about the initiative here. 

💸 Arma Karma aims to keep policy cost down by letting consumers focus on items they really care about. They also ‘pay-it-forward’ with charitable contributions to four beneficiaries which rotate each quarter. 

🦄 Insurtech Marshmallow can boast some pretty impressive stats as the second UK unicorn to be founded by people of Black heritage. As much as we wish this wasn’t news, with the lack of diversity in the VC and startup industries, their growth is especially impressive.

👏 Jihan Abass leads Lami Insurance Technology - an insurtech startup in Nairobi. Here she speaks about why accessibility is the main vision for the company and here she shares more about how their API enables other businesses. 

💫 In the UK, only 0.02% of VC funding has gone to Black female founders in a decade. Megan Bingham-Walker, co-founder of Anansi, shares a little bit about the pressures of this here.

News in tech for good:

🔮 The Future We Create is a must read report on the trends and startups powering the Tech for Good sector. 

⚖️ A long-running legal challenge to Kenya’s biometric identity system has succeeded. As Cori Crider from Foxglove comments, this is a very important tech justice case: “Biometric systems are being rolled out in loads of places with little thought for their discriminatory effects.”   

🧠 The UK State of Social Enterprises Survey has revealed that supporting people’s mental health has become a top priority for UK social enterprises.

💸 2150 has closed its oversubscribed first fund of €270m and announced it’s five initial investments with the potential to mitigate 1.6 gigatonnes of CO2. 

🥦 The #TechForFood trend continues to be strong and Atlantic Food Labs is relaunching as FoodLabs, with a dedicated €100 million food tech fund to invest in food, health and sustainability startups. 

👁 Google has pulled ‘stalkerware’ ads that violated its policies by promoting apps that encouraged users to spy on their spouses’ phone.

📑 The Pandora Papers are massive - both politically and literally. The leak includes 2.94 terabytes of data. This piece explores exactly how the papers were navigated. 

⚡️ Turning to electric vehicles is just one way to slow climate change, but more needs to be done in urban transportation. The New York Times looks into the cities starting to electrify mass transit. Sifted also looks into how startups can reduce pollution in ‘last mile’ deliveries. 

🧑‍⚖️ The development and debate of the UK’s Online Safety Bill will be something we pay close attention to. In the Guardian’s tech newsletter, they argue it could set the tone for global social media regulation. 

🛒 An investigation by The Markup has found that Amazon places products from its house brands, ahead of competitors - even those with higher customer ratings. 

The Tech for Good Newsboard 📍

• Board of Directors: Roles and Responsibilities in Startups - this is a really helpful guide into a more structured governance. 

• The tech ecosystem is filled with tools to aid productivity. We are usually wary of tips to aid productivity at the expense of wellbeing. This piece explores one way to unwind at the end of the day, and make you more productive.

• The Code Club thinks all children should have the opportunity to learn to code. If you are interested in setting up your own Code Club, they will provide you with free resources and step-by-step guides to help you. Find out more here. 

• Rolling invitation for anyone interested in joining our Slack community. Connect with more than 330+ peers passionate about tech for good.

#Opportunities and Funding

If you have a funding challenge, grant opening, speaking gig or another opportunity that you want to share - let us know!

• IET Venues are on the lookout to reward one new technology or engineering-focused business with a central London meeting space for a year worth up to £12,000, along with access to a free marketing mentor from the Institute of Engineering and Technology. Apply by 30th November.

• Rising Stars 4.0 is a ScaleUp competition for innovative, early-stage tech companies. Find out if you’re eligible and apply by 20th October. 

• Enter The Charity Governance Awards 2022. There is an opportunity for both national and local charities of all sizes to enter, and win a £5,000 unrestricted grant. Find out more and apply by 26th January 2022.

• Calling all founders in Baltimore - AccelerateBaltimore is looking for impactful solutions to improve the lives of Baltimore citizens and beyond. Apply by 5th December.

• Submit a proposal for MozFest 2021 - They are looking for sessions that explore digital privacy, intersectionality in tech, and climate and sustainability. Submit your proposal by 5th November. Check out this guide for more support. 

• Applications to Cohort Two for the Better Business Network are open until 31st October. The first week membership is full of free virtual workshops and events to join other members. Find out more here. 

• Connected Places Catapult is the UK’s innovation accelerator for cities, transport, and places. They have a number of open calls, grants and opportunities open now. Find out more here. 

What’s going on? 📅

• End State: Rethinking society in the digital age. Hosted by the RSA, James Plunkett and Sophie Parker address big questions about the kind of society we need and want. 
• As impact venture investing grows across the world, how is the sector developing in the two strongest geographies for VC? This panel discussion explores how the US and Europe compare when it comes to impact venture capital.

• For the UFI’s #WeekofVocTech on 15-19th November they are hosting a free programme of online events exploring the role of digital technology in vocational training. Check out the full list of events here. 
• RSVP to the 2021 Community Health Village: Sustainable Networks and Movements. There are many interesting sessions coming up, including Dealing with Distress in the Digital Rights Community: What can you do as a community leader? On 16th November.
• The Good Business Club is hosting their first in-person networking events since March 2020 to reconnect impact-led and purpose-driven businesses. They are coming to London, Bristol, Leeds, York, Worthing and Brighton. Check out the Good Business Reconnect events here.
• Economic Evaluation - is it right for my charity? At this workshop Jon Franklin, Chief Economist at Pro Bono Economics will introduce a basic framework for thinking about economic evaluation in the social sector. 
• Join the FutureProof Tech Summit: Building World-Positive Companies Conference on 22nd October and hear from founders who have been in your shoes - prioritising positive impact with payroll!

Working in tech for good 💼

We’ve trimmed the job section to new arrivals and featured ads only. For the full list head to our website.

• mySociety is looking for a Perl and Python developer to support the rollout of digital Local Authority services for highways, environment and the public realm for their council clients across the UK. This is a remote role. Apply by 31st December here.

• MovingWorlds is looking for a Data Orchestration Engineer to help them grow their organisation and offering for all their users. Apply by 29th October here.

• LettUs Grow is hiring a Head of Commercial and a Head of Delivery and Support. Both vacancies have rolling deadlines so apply asap!

• Piclo is looking for a CFO/COO to support their scaling up as they launch the UK-leading flexibility marketplace across multiple countries in the coming years. Find out more and apply here. 

• LVNDR is looking for a Director of Clinical Services to be a part of their Senior Leadership Team. This is an opportunity to make a difference by  supporting the health and wellbeing of the LGBTQ+ community.

• Chatterbox is hiring for a Head of Learning. This role is completely remote, adn perfect for someone looking to work for an impact-oriented online educator. Apply as soon as possible here.

• SPOKE is looking for a community and growth manager to join their team. If you care deeply about mental health and music, definitely check this out. Apply as soon as possible here.

• Varthana Finance Private Limited is looking for an Engineering Manager to be responsible for the Product Engineering team. Find out more and apply by 31st December here.

• Stockholm Environment Institute is looking for a Trase Data Engineer, based in Stockholm, with a strong interest in sustainability. Apply by 25th October.

• HumanVenture LTD is looking for a UX/UI designer to adapt an existing IT platform for the UK market needs. This is a 5 month project. Find out more and apply by 20th October here. 

• CHAYN is looking for a user researcher to join their team and help them understand the experiences of survivors of abuse. Apply by 20th October.

• CitizenLab is hiring a Senior Product Manager, a Tech Lead (Ruby/React), a Lead Architect, a Full-Stack Engineer (Rails/React), and a Product Designer (Insights). These roles are based in Belgium with remote options. They are also hiring a Business Development Manager in the US. 

• Ocean Bottle is looking for a Supply Chain Lead to join their Operations team. Find out more and apply here.

• Year Here is hiring a Chief Operating Officer to join their leadership team to lead their operations and help them grow their positive impact. Apply by 21st November.

If you have an opening or know of a job opportunity to do with tech for good, please head to our website and we can look into adding it to the jobs board.

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