PlaNet Finance Group plans to expand its microinsurance schemes throughout the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), following the implementation of a microinsurance program in Egypt with First Microfinance Foundation (FMF) and global insurance company Allianz.
Sawsen Ayari, Microfinance Expert and Programme Manager at PlaNet Finance United Arab Emirates (UAE), said the agency is planning to expand its micro-insurance facilities in several MENA countries through PlaNet Guarantee, PlaNet Finance’s microinsurance subsidiary. PlaNet Guarantee, which was established in 2007, aims to provide technical assistance to MFIs, banks, insurance, and reinsurance companies in order to develop microinsurance and microguarantee products. As of first quarter 2009, PlaNet Guarantee was working with 10 partner MFIs in 6 countries to provide microinsurance products to over 70,000 microentrepreneurs and conducting R&D projects in 11 countries.
PlaNet Guarantee’s first micro-insurance scheme in the Middle East was initiated in January 2008 through a partnership with Allianz. Allianz Group provides insurance, asset management and banking services to approximately 75 million customers in 70 countries. Allianz has ongoing microinsurance programs in India, Indonesia, and Colombia, reaching 50,000, 100,000, and 639,000 policy-holders respectively. Allianz also started microinsurance programs in Senegal, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Burkina Faso, Benin, Togo, Mali, and Central Africa. Read about Allianz’s partnership with CARE International in India in this MicroCapital story, and learn more about Allianz’s Indonesia program in this MicroCapital article.
First Microfinance Foundation (FMF), an MFI founded by the Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance, tested the microinsurance scheme in Egypt, offering death and disability insurance to its clients. Under the facility, premium rates as low as USD 1 cover loans of USD 1,500 to USD 2000. Allianz Life Insurance covered the entire loan portfolio of the MFI against the premium, which is paid upfront at each new loan disbursement. In the case of death or disability, FMF gets 110 percent of the initial loan amount and keeps the outstanding amount of the loan as repayment. The remaining balance is paid to the client or the client’s family. About 100 loan officers of FMF are trained on death and disability insurance for the benefit of the company’s 14,000 clients.
The micro-insurance scheme in Egypt has fueled PlaNet Finance’s plans for expansion in the region. In light of the global financial crisis, and fears that the economic environment could impact micro-entrepreneurs in the region, micro-insurance schemes are seen as a way to ensure loan repayment capacity, as well as protect microfinance clients against risks such as illness and natural catastrophes.
PlaNet Finance Group is an international non-governmental organization that aims to alleviate poverty through the development of microfinance. PlaNet Finance offers its services through eight independent, specialized units. PlaNet Finance Advisory Services offers consulting services and technical assistance, managing 115 programs with MFIs in 2008. By the first quarter of 2009, PlaNIS, which specializes in advisory and funding services for microfinance investment vehicles, had set up the financing for 52 MFIs mainly on behalf of responsAbility funds /Credit Suisse and MicroFund for a total of USD 124 million. MicroCred, PlaNet Finance’s microfinance investment company, had invested in 6 MFIs. FinanCités, a social venture capital company, financed 22 microentreprises for a total of EUR 1 million (USD 1.4 million), and MicroFit, which offers software solutions for microfinance, has 16 ongoing management information systems (MIS) implementations. PlaNet Finance also encompasses PlaNet Rating, a microfinance rating agency which has rated 300 MFIs in 80 countries to date, PlaNet University, a microfinance training center, and PlaNet Guarantee.
PlaNet Finance Group has also engaged in several high-profile partnerships. The group is working closely with pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to research the healthcare needs of low-income households in China. Read more about PlaNet Finance’s work with Pfizer in this MicroCapital article. PlaNet Finance also received a USD 1.7 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to partner with Orange on a mobile banking project; read more in this MicroCapital Story.
By Jaclyn Berfond, Research Assistant
Additional Resources:
Emirates Business: PlaNet Finance to launch micro-insurance schemes by VM Sathish
PlaNet Finance Group: Homepage
PlaNet Finance Middle East: Homepage
Allianz: Making Microinsurance Work in Africa
Allianz: Sustainable Development Summary Report 2008
MicroCapital Story: PlaNet Finance teams with Pfizer to Research Healthcare Needs of Low-Income Chinese in pursuit of Effective Microinsurance and Microfinance Plus Services
MicroCapital Story: Gates Foundation Grants 1.7 Million to PlaNet Finance And France Telecom’s Orange for Mobile Banking Microfinance Project
MicroCapital Story: CARE International and Allianz Pioneering Microinsurance Against Disaster for India’s Poor
MicroCapital Story: Microinsurance Client Base of Allianz Life Indonesia Grows Four-fold in 2008
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