MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroEnsure to Tap Data from Meteo Rwanda to Provide Weather Index Insurance for Farmers

MicroEnsure, a UK-based microinsurance subsidiary of US-based nonprofit Opportunity International, recently announced that it will be partnering with Meteo Rwanda, the country’s meteorological agency, in order to provide weather index insurance (WII) to small-scale Rwandan farmers. Smallholder farmers reportedly have had difficulty acquiring loans from banks and microfinance institutions as a result of the risks associated with agriculture such as the weather. WII provides automatic payouts when weather conditions such as rainfall levels are above or below predetermined levels. According to MicroEnsure’s CEO, Richard Leftley, the organization has “[…] been active in providing more than 13,000 smallholder farmers with access to weather index insurance since 2010. This relationship with Meteo Rwanda will enable us to increase access to WII […].”  One of the barriers to providing adequate insurance to Rwanda’s farmers reportedly has been a lack of reliable weather information. As noted by John Semafara Ntaganda, director general of Meteo Rwanda, “Bearing in mind that weather and climate information is essential for agricultural production in many ways, MicroEnsure has developed a partnership with Meteo Rwanda to ensure continuous, timely, and reliable weather and climate information.”

MicroEnsure has created WII products for maize, potatoes and rice. The insurance provider is exploring the possibility of expanding its offerings to include flashflood products.

As an insurance intermediary, MicroEnsure provides a range of products including health, life, property and weather index insurance to approximately 4.5 million poor clients in nine countries in Africa and Asia as of 2012.

By Lena Phillips, Research Associate

About MicroEnsure
MicroEnsure was founded in 2005 in the UK as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Opportunity International, a US-based nonprofit microfinance network created in 1974. MicroEnsure was known as the Micro Insurance Agency until 2008. As an insurance intermediary, it provides a range of products including health, life, property and weather index insurance to approximately 4.5 million poor clients in Bangladesh, Ghana, India, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, the Philippines, Rwanda and Tanzania as of 2012.

Sources and Additional Resources:

MicroEnsure.com News, “MicroEnsure and the Rwanda Meteorological Agency Form Strategic Partnership to Protect Smallholder Farmers”, http://microensure.com/news.asp?id=249

MicroCapital.org Article, 28 November 2012: “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: MicroEnsure Ghana Unveils ‘Edusave’, Incorporating Insurance, Savings, Education Finance”, https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-microensure-ghana-unveils-edusave-incorporating-insurance-savings-education-finance/#more-21264

MicroCapital.org Article, 27 December 2010: “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Expands Microinsurance in Kenya and Rwanda Through Syngenta, International Livestock Research Institute, MicroEnsure”, https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-international-finance-corporation-ifc-expands-microinsurance-in-kenya-and-rwanda-through-syngenta-international-livestock-research-institute-microensure/

MicroCapital Universe Profile: MicroEnsure, https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=MicroEnsure

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