MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: France’s Groupe de Recherche et d’Échanges Technologies (GRET) Launches Health Microinsurance Pilot Project for Cambodian Garment Workers

French NGO Groupe de Recherche et d’Echanges Technologies (GRET), funded by the French Government’s Agence Francaise de Developpement, is piloting the Health Insurance Project (HIP), a program in Cambodia aimed at funding basic health care services for rural garment workers, reducing their vulnerability to unforeseen risks.

HIP targets women aged 17 to 35, whose monthly salary is USD 79. The health insurance provides services such as paid sick-leave at a cost of USD 1.6 per month, half of which is paid by the employer. In the eight Cambodian factories where this is being implemented so far, 30 percent of employees have participated.

HIP is monitored by the International Labor Organization (ILO) Micro insurance Innovation Facility, which was launched in 2008 in an effort to increase the availability of insurance for low-income families in developing countries. ILO is an agency of the United Nations and is located in Switzerland.

By Amira Berrada, Research Associate

About Groupe de Recherche et d’Echanges Technologies (GRET): Founded in 1976, Groupe de Recherche et d’Echanges Technologies (GRET) is a France-based NGO that is financed by the French Government’s Agence Francaise de Developpement and is dedicated to fostering development by designing and implementing field projects, providing technical expertise, shaping aid policies and conducting studies, assessments and applied research. GRET is active in 30 countries and has 13 permanent offices around the world. Through its Microfinance and Small Enterprise Cluster, GRET provides vocational training, micro-and small enterprise services and micro-health insurance products in underserved sectors. As of 2010, GRET’s total assets were EUR 32.6 million (USD 43 million).

About Microinsurance Innovation Facility (MIF): Launched in 2008 with a USD 34 million grant from the US-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Microinsurance Innovation Facility (MIF) is housed at the International Labour Organization’s (ILO’s) Social Finance Programme. MIF’s goal is to increase the availability of insurance for low-income families in developing countries to help them overcome poverty. MIF provides grants to help organizations develop innovative microinsurance products, with an emphasis on agriculture, health, life and property insurance. MIF also provides technical assistance and advice. ILO is an agency of the United Nations and is located in Geneva, Switzerland.

About International Labour Organization (ILO): Founded in 1919, the International Labour Organization (ILO), is an agency of the United Nations, an organization promoting peace and improved living standards. The objective of ILO is to advance opportunities for men and women to obtain productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. Headquartered in Switzerland, its founding mission is that labor peace is critical to prosperity.

About Agence Francaise de Development: Established in 1941, Agence Française de Développement (AFD) is a bilateral development finance institution whose public mandate is to finance development according to the overseas development assistance policies of the French government. In 2011, AFD reportedly committed approximately EUR 7 billion (USD 9.2 billion) to financing aid activities in developing and emerging countries and the French Overseas Communities. These investments involved providing primary schooling for 13.4 million children, improving drinking water supplies for 33 million people and disbursing microloans to 700,000 people.

Sources and Resources:

[1] http://khmerization.blogspot.ca/2012/03/microinsurance-programs-target.h…

MicroCapital.org article, March 3, 2012, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Prevoir Kampuchea Micro-life insurance (PKMI) Offering Health Microinsurance in Cambodia” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-prevoir-kampuchea-micro-l…

MicroCapital.org article, November 15, 2011, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microinsurance Innovation Facility (MIF) Accepting Applications for Africa-Based Fellowships Until November 30, 2011” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-microinsurance-innovation…

MicroCapital Universe Profile for Groupe de Recherche et d’Echanges Technologies (GRET) : https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Gro…

MicroCapital Universe Profile for Microinsurance Innovation Facility (MIF): https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Mic…

MicroCapital Universe Profile for International Labour Organization (ILO): https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Int…

MicroCapital Universe Profile for Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD): https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Age…

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Amira joined MicroCapital while working at Export Development Canada (EDC) as a Credit Insurance Underwriter. Amira holds a Bachelor degree in International Business and Finance from Concordia University in Montreal. While completing her bachelor degree, Amira spent a semester in France and upon graduation, three months in India working with non-governmental agencies, political and spiritual groups for various socioeconomic initiatives such as the advancement of women. While travelling to different cities and rural areas in India, Amira was touched by the poverty she witnessed and was dedicated to finding a way to intertwine her business interests with her passion for development. She hopes this internship in microfinance will provide the framework to integrate an element of development into her professional career as well as positively contribute to the field of microfinance. Amira speaks English, French, and Spanish fluently and has conversational knowledge in Portuguese and Arabic. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, trying new restaurants such as molecular gastronomy, restaurants made out of ice and Nicaraguan meals wrapped in banana leaves. Most of all, she loves to travel with loved ones.