Eight dynamic African young women-led enterprises have been awarded a total of $800,000 at COP28 for their innovative climate change adaptation solutions. The winners emerged from the 2023 YouthAdapt Challenge, jointly organized by the African Development Bank Group and the Global Center on Adaptation, with support from the Africa Climate Change Fund. Each winning business will receive grant funding of up to $100,000 along with comprehensive mentorship and coaching as part of a 12-month accelerator program. Among the distinguished winners is Deborah Nzarubara , the representative of GRECOM , a

Sergio Pimenta, Vice President for Africa, IFC, attended the Africa Financial Industry Summit (AFIS) in Togo, where over 1000 stakeholders and financial policy experts gathered to discuss strengthening Africa's financial sector for social and economic development. Pimenta highlighted three key takeaways from the summit: Firstly, the importance of economic integration in Africa, particularly through the African Continental Free Trade Area, to enhance trade, efficiency, and reduce business costs. Secondly, the need to strengthen Africa's economic foundations by creating a transparent regulatory

The government of Germany has announced an investment of 4 billion euros in green energy in Africa until 2030. This commitment was made during the Compact with Africa conference, which was attended by African leaders and representatives of international organizations. The initiative, launched by Germany in 2017, aims to improve conditions for private sector investment and sustainable infrastructure in Africa, with 13 African countries already participating. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz emphasized the importance of strengthening cooperation between Africa and Europe to achieve climate-friendly

Last month, the Insurance Development Forum's Inclusive Insurance Working Group (IIWG) partnered with international organizations, local regulators, and insurance businesses to initiate a groundbreaking project in Kenya. Supported by key entities such as the United Nations Development Programme's Insurance and Risk Financing Facility, the World Bank Group's Global Index Insurance Facility, and the Microinsurance Network, the IIWG's goal is to foster inclusivity, innovation, and sustainable growth in Kenya's insurance sector. The inaugural Kenya Country Workshop, held on September 28 and 29

The Ugandan fintech startup Emata has successfully secured $2.4 million in seed funding, earmarked for the expansion of its digital agricultural loan services across East Africa, with a primary focus on Uganda and potential growth into Tanzania. Emata specializes in providing automated loans to smallholder farmers, effectively addressing the significant agricultural financing gap within the region by offering loans at rates five times more affordable than informal lending alternatives. The company has developed a digital platform that streamlines the lending process and is deeply integrated

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

In 2022, despite the ongoing struggles of the COVID-19 pandemic, the GIIF Program successfully delivered significant results and continued building a strong pipeline to strengthen its ties with clients, other WBG projects and the donor community. All activities, projects, events, trainings, studies focus on further developing the markets. Since the launch of GIIF, more than 13 million agriculture insurance policies have been issued cumulatively, with an estimated outreach of 65 million beneficiaries globally. In these difficult conditions, as the GIIF team we would like to emphasize that we

Nairobi, Kenya, April 22, 2013—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, announced that a Kenyan partner of the Global Index Insurance Facility (GIIF), a program managed by IFC and jointly implemented with IBRD, reached a major milestone in April 2013 in improving income security for 100,000 farmers by providing them with insurance against adverse weather. The milestone was reached through the work of Kilimo Salama, a social enterprise launched by the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture with the support of GIIF. Started with only 185 farmers in Kenya in 2009, Kilimo Salama allowed

The World Bank Group has announced a Global Shield Financing Facility to help developing countries access more financing for recovery from natural disasters and climate shocks. The Global Shield against Climate Risk or Global Shield, in short, is a collaborative partnership between G7 and V20 to fast-track access to pre-arranged finance which is deployed swiftly and reliably before or soon after climatic shocks and disasters strike. The German government through its G7 chairmanship spearheaded the launch of the Global Shield. Through the Global Shield, governments, communities, businesses, and

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