Cerchia nets funds to transform direct risk transfer with investors and reinsurers

January 17, 2023

Cerchia, which is on a mission to enable direct risk transfer between investors and reinsurers, has secured CHF 1.3m ($1.4m).

The investment was backed by High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and other unnamed investors.

The fresh funds will allow Cerchia to hire more staff and invest in technical advancements to provide a comprehensive, direct risk transfer experience.

Cerchia claims to have created the world’s first marketplace for direct risk transfer on the Zilliqa Blockchain. Its mission is to support a more resilient world by linking capital markets and digital asset markets.

Based in Switzerland, Cerchia is creating a novel capital markets platform that is efficient, transparent and compliant. This platform allows for direct risk transfer between reinsurers and investors.

It believes this platform will reduce the growing gap of over 1.8trn between insured and uninsured economic risks, according to data from Protection Gap.

The first of Cerchia’s products will be launched in the coming spring. Users will be able to execute if off-chain and on-chain depending on their needs.

Speaking on the investment, HTGF senior investment manager Dominik Lohle said, “Investing in companies that address problems caused by climate change is not only a social concern, but also shows a lot of potential.

“Cerchia has found a unique and innovative solution to address the problem of growing climate risks with unprecedented efficiency using distributed ledger technology. We are excited to launch the solution to market with Cerchia.”

This is the second FinTech company High-Tech Gründerfonds has backed this year. It recently joined the CHF 3m funding round of Relio. The Swiss company offers an automated compliance framework that helps neobanks with their fraud and money laundering compliance processes.

In other Switzerland news, the Swiss Federal Council unveiled new rules that mandate greater transparency with sustainability. Any firm that offers financial products and funds labelled as sustainable, green, or ESG will need to disclose how they intend to achieve their sustainability goals.