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Making climate risk insurance more accessible for farmers in Africa

Published on:

Tuesday, September 12, 2023

Climate change poses a severe threat to small-scale farmers in Africa, whose livelihoods depend on weather conditions. Devastating effects like droughts and pest-related crop losses underscore the pressing need to safeguard Africa's agriculture and agribusiness sectors. Expanding climate risk insurance offers a solution by providing farmers with compensation based on transparent parameters, offering financial protection, and promoting sustainable farming practices. While most African countries have a minimal climate insurance penetration rate, the Africa Inclusive Insurance Program launched by

GIIF Newsletter - July 2023

Author:

Global Index Insurance Facility

GIIF July Newsletter in 2023 features team news, events, blogs, highlights, and interviews.

Jul

Driving Change: Promoting Women's Participation and Gender-Responsive Policies in the Insurance Industry.

Despite the potential for increased profitability and the global commercial opportunity offered by the women's market, the insurance industry in developing countries is confronted with significant challenges when it comes to addressing gender diversity and equality. Despite the IFC's SheforShield report indicating that women are more profitable clients, the industry continues to struggle with gender-based wage gaps and inequalities, which not only hinder women's potential in the industry but also limit their contribution to the broader economy. According to the report, the global insurance

Jul

Landmark regulation increases agricultural resilience in DRC

The agriculture landscape in DRC has seen significant traction over the last decade. On the other hand, there are also concerns regarding limited access to agricultural innovations, decreased productivity, reduced agricultural yields and lower product quality for consumers, both at the household and market levels. The country is especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change and because 95% of DRC’s agriculture is rain-fed, the sector is highly susceptible to weather changes. In addition, smallholder farmers, who mostly lack financial support, dominate the agriculture sector and they

Jul

Spurring innovations in climate resilience in West Africa: Lessons from Morocco

From July 10-14, GIIF, in collaboration with Gallagher Re, organized a study tour to Morocco as part of a capacity-building program for public and private sector stakeholders working on agriculture-based index insurance products in West African francophone countries. The overarching goal of this program is to evaluate the primary challenges in developing agricultural insurance in West Africa and identify the most promising solutions to address these issues. For the study tour, the South-South knowledge-sharing exchange brought together participants from Burkina Faso, DRC, Niger, and Senegal

Jul

VivaTech 2023: Reflections on the future of technology and insurance

During 14-17 June 2023, Europe’s largest technology showcase – VivaTech – hosted more than 150,000 visitors and 450 speakers from 174 countries in Paris, France. VivaTech accelerates innovation by connecting startups, tech leaders, major corporations and investors who are using technology to respond to our world’s biggest challenges. Speaking at VivaTech, French President, Emmanuel Macron, announced his country’s bold plans and investments in positive-impact startups (nearly €6 billion) and artificial intelligence (€500 million), respectively. For the second year running, Viva Technology and

Jul

Road to COP28: Catalyzing action and ambition

In June 2023, the Insurance Development Forum (IDF) convened high-level global experts from governments, international organizations, civil society and academia at the IDF Summit in Zurich to chart the path towards delivering greater financial climate resilience and inclusivity. As climate change continues to intensify, the Summit's theme of “Ambition, Action & Impact” captured the urgency with which global actors must move to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals – especially those most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The Summit focused on how partnerships among public

GIIF Newsletter - April 2023

GIIF April Newsletter in 2023 features team news, events, blogs, highlights, and interviews.

Insuring Africa for shared prosperity

Feb

During 20 – 24 February 2023, the Federation of African National Insurance Companies (known as FANAF, by its French acronym) organized its 47th General Assembly in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Themed: "African insurance: how to maximize its potential for shared prosperity," the event convened nearly 1,000 delegates. Four sub-themes were elaborated on by industry experts through four interactive panel discussions. These were: • Panel 1: The factors blocking microinsurance: what prospects for its development?• Panel 2: Compulsory insurance in FANAF countries• Panel 3: How to integrate

Apr

Empowered Women: Reflections from Spring Meetings

The recent panel discussion at the 2023 World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Spring Meeting, " Expanding Opportunities for Women's Leadership," shed light on the importance of empowering women entrepreneurs and leaders. The panelists, Makhtar Diop, Managing Director, IFC; Melinda French Gates, Co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Adji Bousso Dieng, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Princeton University, emphasized the need to increase the number of women in leadership positions and support women-owned businesses, highlighting the crucial role played by

Index Insurance Forum