Financial inclusion is critical to development in Africa. Yet, many smallholder farmers and micro, small & medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) on the continent have limited access to financial products, including climate-resilient microinsurance and other insurance services.

Past December 2022, IFC - International Finance Corporation convened representatives from Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe to discuss building the capacity of companies and regulators to design agricultural insurance products and best practices for assessing the insurance value of smallholder farmers for financial institutions.

These are three key takeaways from the session last month:

1️⃣ Climate risk insurance can strengthen farmer resilience by providing needed liquidity to recover following climate-related shocks. 
2️⃣ Inclusive access to innovative climate risk insurance products can help unlock barriers to accessing other financial services.
3️⃣ There is growing interest from smallholder farmers across the region in climate risk insurance.

IFC Africa also thanked their partners at Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) for their support on this initiative, and each of their participants: 

Carol Khouzami; Sharon Onyango; Shadreck Mapfumo; gilles galludec; Riadh Naouar; Peter Wrede; Richard Leftley; Samy DADA; Noah Nyamasvisva; Johnny Mikhael M.; Alejandra Campero.

Pensions and Insurance Authority (PIA); National Insurance Commission, Abuja; Insurance & Pensions Commission ZIM; Mayfair Insurance Company Limited; Hollard Seguros; ACTIVA Assurances CMR; AFC Holdings; APA Insurance Limited; Madison General Insurance Company Zambia Limited; Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken; Instituto de Supervisão de Seguros de Moçambique; Insurance Council of Zimbabwe; Ministry of Agriculture Zimbabwe; and Instituto de Amêndoas de Moçambique. 

Source: IFC Africa