Resilience & Insurance


Cenfri has deep insurance expertise from working with the insurance markets in Africa, Latin America and Asia. Insurance penetration in these markets is often low and we understand the need for responsible market innovation so that insurance fulfils its optimal role in building resilience, supporting business growth, and contributing to broader policy and development objectives.

The breadth of Cenfri’s insurance and resilience work spans diagnostic studies, development of global and regional standards and national regulations, technical assistance and innovation support (to regulators and the private sector), innovation studies, MSME-tailored resilience solutions, improved risk management in response to climate-related events, and definitive work on cell captives.

Our partners include GIZ, Access to Insurance Initiative (A2ii), the UK’s FCDO (formerly DFID), the FSD Africa and other financial sector deepening trusts, the Swiss Capacity Building Fund, FSCA, Hollard, Santam, Old Mutual, AXA, Britam, Generali, the Microinsurance Network, UNCDF, UNDP, The World Bank, IFC, IADB and ADB. 

Resilience & Insurance

Microinsurance solutions for climate change

The third edition of The State of Microinsurance annual journal looks at microinsurance solutions for climate change, focusing on pioneering ideas in the way micro-insurance is being designed and offered, and highlighting key lessons learned from a range of different programmes and initiatives. Published by the Microinsurance Network, this report

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Resilience & Insurance

Rich enough for a discount?

Tax credits and employer subsidies are required to make medical schemes affordable for those earning just above tax threshold. Pre-funded health financing mechanisms are important tools that can protect people against the financial risks of health events and provide access to private healthcare. Such protection is especially important in the

Read More »
Financial Inclusion

Labour unions and financial inclusion in South Africa

Labour unions play a critical role in improving the well-being of their members through promoting their rights in the workplace. As an organising entity with bargaining power, access to a typically low-income membership-base, footprint and in some instances, significant financial resources at their disposal, unions are well placed to facilitate

Read More »
Financial Inclusion

Diving into the data

Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are recognised globally as a major engine of growth and employment creation. Access to finance is their most commonly cited barrier to growth. The IFC estimates that there are between 200 and 245 million formal and informal MSMEs in developing countries that do not

Read More »
Resilience & Insurance

Role of inclusive insurance markets in economic growth and poverty reduction

There is much dialogue on the way insurance markets can contribute to poverty reduction by helping low-income individuals to preserve assets and mitigate the effects of financial shocks, thereby reducing vulnerability. There has also been significant effort to promote microinsurance to low-income adults. However, less has been written about the

Read More »
Digital Transformation & Data

Insurtech tracker archive

This is the first version of the insurtech tracker. Explore more on insurtech here or see the updated insurtech tracker here.  

Read More »
Financial Inclusion

What use is financial inclusion, when you can’t pay the bills?

The 2017 budget, unveiled by the Minister of Finance Honourable Felix Mutati in Zambia earlier this month incorporates new austerity measures but has incorporated significant increases in social welfare benefits. . However, restricted liquidity conditions in the Zambian economy have significantly impacted access to capital and finance, hindering the expansion

Read More »
Resilience & Insurance

Proportionate regulatory frameworks in inclusive insurance

It is over a decade since the first microinsurance regulations were introduced in India in 2005. With at least 18 insurance supervisors having rolled out microinsurance regulations since the landscape is now vastly different. This report from Access to Insurance Initiative (A2ii) looks back at what supervisory approaches have been undertaken

Read More »
Resilience & Insurance

Microinsurance solutions for climate change

The third edition of The State of Microinsurance annual journal looks at microinsurance solutions for climate change, focusing on pioneering ideas in the way micro-insurance is being designed and offered, and highlighting key lessons learned from a range of different programmes and initiatives. Published by the Microinsurance Network, this report

Resilience & Insurance

Rich enough for a discount?

Tax credits and employer subsidies are required to make medical schemes affordable for those earning just above tax threshold. Pre-funded health financing mechanisms are important tools that can protect people against the financial risks of health events and provide access to private healthcare. Such protection is especially important in the

Financial Inclusion

Labour unions and financial inclusion in South Africa

Labour unions play a critical role in improving the well-being of their members through promoting their rights in the workplace. As an organising entity with bargaining power, access to a typically low-income membership-base, footprint and in some instances, significant financial resources at their disposal, unions are well placed to facilitate

Financial Inclusion

Diving into the data

Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are recognised globally as a major engine of growth and employment creation. Access to finance is their most commonly cited barrier to growth. The IFC estimates that there are between 200 and 245 million formal and informal MSMEs in developing countries that do not

Resilience & Insurance

Role of inclusive insurance markets in economic growth and poverty reduction

There is much dialogue on the way insurance markets can contribute to poverty reduction by helping low-income individuals to preserve assets and mitigate the effects of financial shocks, thereby reducing vulnerability. There has also been significant effort to promote microinsurance to low-income adults. However, less has been written about the

Getting ahead of the curve: How the regulatory discourse on M-insurance is changing
Digital Transformation & Data

Getting ahead of the curve: How the regulatory discourse on M-insurance is changing

Nearly a year ago, we joined the A2ii in Abidjan to sit down with a roomful of regulators to discuss the challenges and imperatives CIMA faces in regulating mobile insurance at the CIMA-A2ii Workshop on Mobile Insurance Regulation. In the CIMA context, as with most countries in Africa, mobile network operators (MNOs) and the technical

Digital Transformation & Data

Insurtech tracker archive

This is the first version of the insurtech tracker. Explore more on insurtech here or see the updated insurtech tracker here.  

Financial Inclusion

What use is financial inclusion, when you can’t pay the bills?

The 2017 budget, unveiled by the Minister of Finance Honourable Felix Mutati in Zambia earlier this month incorporates new austerity measures but has incorporated significant increases in social welfare benefits. . However, restricted liquidity conditions in the Zambian economy have significantly impacted access to capital and finance, hindering the expansion

Resilience & Insurance

Proportionate regulatory frameworks in inclusive insurance

It is over a decade since the first microinsurance regulations were introduced in India in 2005. With at least 18 insurance supervisors having rolled out microinsurance regulations since the landscape is now vastly different. This report from Access to Insurance Initiative (A2ii) looks back at what supervisory approaches have been undertaken