by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: Leveraging Carbon Credits to Insure MSMEs in Climate-vulnerable Nations #SAM2023

What a pleasure it was to interview Diana Chepng’eno (pictured below) at SAM 2023 in Togo last month! She is such a warm and energetic person – and deeply engaged in the critical work of climate adaptation and miti­gation across Africa and the Middle East.

During SAM 2023, Ms Chepng’eno spoke at the opening plenary ses­sion “Making Africa’s Future Sustainable – Climate, Socio-economic Develop­ment and Inclusive Finance” as well as a breakout session titled “Helping Financial Institutions Deal with Cli­mate Change – Assessing Risks and Strengthening Institutional Resili­ence.”

Bob Summers: What are you working on with the V20 group of climate-vulnerable nations (which now comprises 68 low- and middle-income countries)?
Diana Chepng’eno: Sitting within the UN Environment Programme Finance Initia­tive, under the Princi­ples for Sustainable Insurance, we are ramping up a Sustain­able Insurance Facility. We launched the facility in 2022 to advocate for the import­ance of insurance for micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in V20 countries as a significant driver for miti­gating climate change risks. MSMEs, for example, comprise about 75 percent of the total GDP of the V20. Therefore, if we can support these MSMEs by fa­cili­tating access to much-needed insurance, so that they may become more climate resilient, then these entire countries can be climate-resilient.

BS: What mechanisms does the facility use?
DC: The work is all based on partnerships. Insurers are critical, of course. We also need firms that

by James Stevenson -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: AfDB Seeking $1b for African Climate Risk Insurance Facility (ACRIFA) to Boost Microinsurance for Farms, Livestock Against Drought, Floods

The multilateral African Development Bank (AfDB) recently launched a fund called the African Climate Risk Insurance Facility (ACRIFA), aimed at increasing the continent’s resilience to adverse weather events. ACRIFA follows on AfDB’s Africa Disaster Risk Insurance Program, which supported the creation and uptake of insurance products and

by Ben Barba -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Jeevan Bikas, Pula, UNCDF Partner on Index Insurance for Farmers in Nepal

The Nepali microfinance institution Jeevan Bikas Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha, Swiss insurance technology (insurtech) firm Pula and the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) recently announced the completion of a pilot program combining technical assistance, subsidies and financial education to design and deploy an index-based insurance product for Nepali smallholder farmers. The program provided 15,000 smallholder farmers with insurance covering

by Ben Barba -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Credit Café Africa, Sterling Bank Partner on $22m in Loans for Providers of Health, Education in Nigeria 

Two Nigeria-based companies, the financial services portal Credit Café Africa and Sterling Bank, recently agreed to collaborate to distribute NGN 10 billion (USD 21.7 million) in loans to health and education facilities. The loans, which will be sized between NGN 100,000 (USD 217) and NGN 20 million (USD 43,400) are to focus on

by the MicroCapital Team -

SPECIAL REPORT: Enabling Microinsurance via Technology: RFID Tags Slash Fraud, Costs of Livestock Cover in Rwanda

e-MFP logoAt a well-attended workshop today at European Microfinance Week, Ovia Tuhairwe, the CEO of Radiant Yacu Microinsurance, described her firm’s journey to develop a viable product to insure livestock in Rwanda. On its own, a subsidy of 40 percent from the Rwandan government did not make it easy to insure cattle, pigs and chickens in the country. Before Radiant Yacu moved to its current model in 2019, fraud was rampant, and costs were high at 10 percent of

by Renata Samadova -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: International Conference on Inclusive Insurance (ICII); October 24-28, 2022; Kingston, Jamaica

The upcoming iteration of this event – the first in-person since 2019 – will include 26 sessions on the increasing role of insurance in developing markets. The first day features pre-conference workshops such as:

by Benjamin Greissman -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fintech Oko Secures $500k in Equity from Katapult, Individual Investors to Expand Agricultural Insurance to Cote d’Ivoire

Oko Finance, an agricultural insurance company active in Mali and Uganda, recently raised USD 500,000 in equity to expand its operations to Cote d’Ivoire. Founded in 2017 and based in Mali, Oko insures 15,000 farmers growing cotton, grains and coffee in partnership with local insurers, using

by Hasnat Aslam -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BlueOrchard Executes IIF Equity Buy into Forte Insurance to Boost Agricultural Microinsurance in Cambodia

Switzerland’s BlueOrchard Finance recently disbursed an equity placement of undisclosed size from the InsuResilience Investment Fund (IIF), a Luxembourg-domiciled public-private partnership, for IIF to buy a minority stake in Cambodia’s Forte Insurance Group. BlueOrchard’s investment director for the continent, Thibaud Ponchon, expressed confidence that the placement will “drive the penetration of

by Adhya Singh -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: InsuResilience Investment Fund Acquires 40% Equity Stake in Ghana-based Insurance Company Vanguard

Switzerland’s BlueOrchard Impact Investment Advisors recently disbursed an undisclosed sum from the InsuResilience Invest Fund (IIF), a Luxembourg-domiciled public-private partnership, for IIF to buy 40 percent of the shares of Vanguard Assurance, an insurer in Ghana that provides microinsurance as well as traditional coverage. The deal, under which IIF controls multiple seats on Vanguard’s Board of Directors, is intended to grow

by Harriet Ritchie -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Alpha Direct of Botswana Expands Insurance Service to Zambia, Plans Equity Raise

Botswana-based insurance underwriter Alpha Direct recently expanded its operations to Zambia under the name Alpha Insurtech Zambia. Alpha Insurtech is partnering with Zambia-based General Alliance Insurance to

by Harriet Ritchie -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Announces $6m Loan for Microfinance Institution Sembrar Sartawi of Bolivia to Support Climate Resilience, Growth of Small-scale Farmers

Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch public-private partnership, recently announced a loan of USD 6 million to support Bolivia-based microfinance institution (MFI) Institución Financiera de Desarollo Sembrar Sartawi. The Dutch Fund for Climate and Development (DFCD), a private entity managed by FMO, will fund the facility, aiming to boost the “climate-resilient economic growth [of] vulnerable smallholder farmers” through

by Harriet Ritchie -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Avla Raising $20m in Equity Round to Be Led by US-based Creation Investments to Expand B2B Insurance Offerings in Chile, Mexico, Peru

US-based Creation Investments Capital Management recently announced it is leading an equity investment of USD 20 million in Avla, a Chile-based business-to-business provider of insurance, surety bonds and collections services in Chile, Mexico and Peru. The firm’s insurance products include coverage for

by Eugene DeCosse -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Activa Insurance, AXA Cameroon, IFC Launch Agricultural Index Insurance Project

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, recently partnered with two insurance companies in Cameroon to create agricultural index insurance products. These products offer payments to

by Shuyang Sun -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: 15th Consultative Forum on Inclusive Insurance; May 7, 2019; Panama City, Panama

This event will address causes and potential solutions to the exposure that poor and other vulnerable people face to climate change and natural disasters. This includes the potential roles of insurers and policymakers in eliminating the protection gap as well as improving individuals’ resilience in general. The forum will take place

by Tiannah Steele -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Loans Agora Microfinance Zambia (AMZ) Local-currency Equivalent of $687k

The Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation (GCA) has told MicroCapital that it lent Agora Microfinance Zambia (AMZ), an affiliate of UK-based Agora Microfinance Partners, local currency approximately equivalent to USD 687,000. AMZ offers loans and insurance services – including

by Nicholas Galimberti -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ILO’s Impact Insurance Facility, Prudential Foundation to Develop Microinsurance Services in Asia; Provide Technical Support for Insurers in Latin America

The Impact Insurance Facility (IIF) of the UN’s International Labour Office (ILO) and the Prudential Financial Incorporated (PFI) Foundation, a unit of the US-based financial services company PFI, recently announced a program intended to: (1) develop microinsurance products for low-income households as well as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) active in Asia; and (2) provide technical support to four financial service providers operating in Latin American countries.

by Nicholas Galimberti -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: 14th International Microinsurance Conference: “Inclusive Insurance for Emerging Markets;” November 6 – 8, 2018; Lusaka, Zambia

Speakers at this year’s event will explore strategies to expand the growth and the accessibility of microinsurance services in emerging economies. Although the details of this year’s agenda are still under development, last year’s edition covered topics such as the role of microinsurance in economic development and digital technologies for microinsurance.

by Jared Junkin -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: TBLI Conference Nordic 2018; November 8 – 9, 2018; Stockholm, Sweden

As in previous editions in several other countries, the next TBLI Conference will consider triple bottom line investing (TBLI) – investing that “benefits investor, environment, and society” – including environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing. Sessions will address the