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.
How proof of address fell In our financial integrity work, we found that in the wake of global efforts to curb money laundering and combat the financing of terrorism (AML-CFT), financial integrity often came at the cost of financial inclusion. The requirement for financial service providers to undertake know-your-customer (KYC) and customer due diligence (CDD)
Britam and M-TIBA receive Swiss Capacity Building Facility (SCBF) funding to scale up mobile-based health insurance Britam and M-TIBA have received funding from Zurich based SCBF for technical assistance to scale up a mobile health insurance solution offered by Britam and accessed on the M-TIBA mobile platform. The SCBF funding
A case study on Turaco and Fenix International in Uganda Generally, health insurance has a very low uptake across Africa. According to Finscope, 53% of Ugandan adults report experiencing a health risk in the last year but only 1.4% of adults have any kind of formal insurance. Ugandan insurtech Turaco created a hospital
In 2021, migrants’ remittance flows to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) reached US$540 billion, only 1.6 per cent below the US$548 billion seen in 2019, and are expected to recover in 2021. In the offset of the crisis, over 200 million migrants defied predictions of the pandemic and continued to
Flooding in urban areas across Africa is on the rise. The continent needs to implement risk-management techniques to ensure its cities are resilient to climate change and the devastation it can cause. This article explores possible ways Africa can build resilience against flooding in urban areas. Across Africa the annual
Most Ugandans face insurable risks, yet uptake of insurance remains very low at only 1.4%. Innovations in global insurance markets have illustrated how insurance can be better designed, offer more affordably and thus provide better value for customers. Uganda enacted a new Insurance Act in 2018. This act expanded the
In many African countries, the potential for inclusive insurance markets is significant, however, this potential has yet to be fully realised. High entry barriers for new innovative players and regulation that may not effectively accommodate them are important contributing factors. The cell captive model has emerged as a way for entrepreneurs or organisations with an insurance business
But in Africa, there is more at stake A key imperative identified by our deep-dive studies across four sub-Saharan African countries was that for the insurance sector to contribute to sustainable development, policymakers and regulators need to take a more active role in leading and enabling innovation in their markets. Never has this imperative been truer than now – as the world is
Why supervising risk, rather than rules, matters when developing insurance markets A series of recent deep-dive studies across Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and Rwanda have shown that insurance matters for sustainable development and growth in Africa. The studies have also identified the imperatives necessary to help ensure that insurance development happens
A guidebook using nine Asian countries (Cambodia, India, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam) under the GIZ Integrated Climate and Disaster Risk Management Framework. Micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) form the backbone of many economies globally. They contribute considerably to economic growth, employment and innovation. The IFC estimates that MSMEs account
How proof of address fell In our financial integrity work, we found that in the wake of global efforts to curb money laundering and combat the financing of terrorism (AML-CFT), financial integrity often came at the cost of financial inclusion. The requirement for financial service providers to undertake know-your-customer (KYC) and customer due diligence (CDD)
Britam and M-TIBA receive Swiss Capacity Building Facility (SCBF) funding to scale up mobile-based health insurance Britam and M-TIBA have received funding from Zurich based SCBF for technical assistance to scale up a mobile health insurance solution offered by Britam and accessed on the M-TIBA mobile platform. The SCBF funding
A case study on Turaco and Fenix International in Uganda Generally, health insurance has a very low uptake across Africa. According to Finscope, 53% of Ugandan adults report experiencing a health risk in the last year but only 1.4% of adults have any kind of formal insurance. Ugandan insurtech Turaco created a hospital
In 2021, migrants’ remittance flows to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) reached US$540 billion, only 1.6 per cent below the US$548 billion seen in 2019, and are expected to recover in 2021. In the offset of the crisis, over 200 million migrants defied predictions of the pandemic and continued to
Flooding in urban areas across Africa is on the rise. The continent needs to implement risk-management techniques to ensure its cities are resilient to climate change and the devastation it can cause. This article explores possible ways Africa can build resilience against flooding in urban areas. Across Africa the annual
Most Ugandans face insurable risks, yet uptake of insurance remains very low at only 1.4%. Innovations in global insurance markets have illustrated how insurance can be better designed, offer more affordably and thus provide better value for customers. Uganda enacted a new Insurance Act in 2018. This act expanded the
In many African countries, the potential for inclusive insurance markets is significant, however, this potential has yet to be fully realised. High entry barriers for new innovative players and regulation that may not effectively accommodate them are important contributing factors. The cell captive model has emerged as a way for entrepreneurs or organisations with an insurance business
But in Africa, there is more at stake A key imperative identified by our deep-dive studies across four sub-Saharan African countries was that for the insurance sector to contribute to sustainable development, policymakers and regulators need to take a more active role in leading and enabling innovation in their markets. Never has this imperative been truer than now – as the world is
Why supervising risk, rather than rules, matters when developing insurance markets A series of recent deep-dive studies across Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and Rwanda have shown that insurance matters for sustainable development and growth in Africa. The studies have also identified the imperatives necessary to help ensure that insurance development happens
A guidebook using nine Asian countries (Cambodia, India, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam) under the GIZ Integrated Climate and Disaster Risk Management Framework. Micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) form the backbone of many economies globally. They contribute considerably to economic growth, employment and innovation. The IFC estimates that MSMEs account
