SPECIAL REPORT: APA Insurance of Kenya Wins $110k European Microfinance Award for Index-based Livestock, Crop Products

From the European Microfinance Platform:
APA Insurance Ltd receives the 10th European Microfinance Award in recognition of its response to “Strengthening Resilience to Climate Change”

Photo © European Microfinance Award Studio European Microfinance Award winner 2019

At a ceremony held at the European Investment Bank in Luxembourg, Paulette Lenert, Luxembourg Minister for Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, presented the 10th European Microfinance Award to APA Insurance Ltd of Kenya.

Since 2006, Luxembourg Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, the European Microfinance Platform and the Inclusive Finance Network Luxembourg have been awarding a EUR 100,000 (USD 110,000) prize to the winner and, starting two years ago, EUR 10,000 (USD 11,000) to the two finalists.

This year’s winner, APA Insurance Ltd, is a Kenyan insurance company that provides index-based agriculture insurance to cover yields and livestock, thus providing farmers with a safety net. Index-based insurance is an innovative approach to insurance whereby payments are linked to easily measured environmental conditions known as an “index” (e.g. the level of rainfall, yields or vegetation levels as measured by satellite) directly connected to the loss of agricultural output. When the index exceeds a particular threshold, farmers automatically receive compensation. In Kenya, where over 75 percent of farmers are smallholders, who are especially vulnerable to the economic impacts of climate change, APA Insurance Ltd currently covers more than 350,000 families whose livelihoods are largely based on agriculture.

While increasingly unpredictable weather conditions and climate change threaten the already precarious situations in developing countries, Minister Lenert, who chaired the High Jury of the European Microfinance Award, noted that: “This year’s Award illustrates that inclusive finance has an essential role to play in strengthening the resilience of vulnerable communities to the effects of climate change, which threaten the livelihoods of disadvantaged communities, especially those relying on agriculture, forestry or fisheries.”

Dr Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank, emphasised that “Climate Change is an existential threat for many nations and communities. How we combat and adapt will shape our future. The three finalists of the European Microfinance Award, and APA Insurance Ltd in particular, are delivering innovative solutions for the financial sector to support vulnerable communities in tackling the effects of climate change.”

European Microfinance Award

The only one of its kind in the world, the European Microfinance Award was launched in October 2005 by the Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs of the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs to nurture innovative microfinance initiatives. It is jointly organised by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) and the Inclusive Finance Network Luxembourg (InFiNe.lu).

This feature is part of a sponsored series on European Microfinance Week, which is taking place from November 20 through November 22, 2019. The event is held each year by e-MFP, and MicroCapital has been engaged to promote and document the event on-site each year since 2012.

Sources and Additional Resources

European Microfinance Award 2019
http://www.european-microfinance-award.com/

European Microfinance Week 2019
https://registration.european-microfinance-week.eu/emw2019

MicroCapital coverage of European Microfinance Week this year and since 2012
https://www.microcapital.org/category/european-microfinance-week/