Country: Nigeria

Transform Health Fund raises $50m to scale proven innovative healthcare models in Africa

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7th June 2023, NAIROBI – FSD Africa Investments, AfricInvest, Malaria No More, and Health Finance Coalition (HFC) have announced the establishment of the Transform Health Fund (THF), a blended-finance fund for scaling proven and innovative healthcare models in Africa. THF has received commitments of $50 million reaching its target size for its first close.

The fund aims to respond to the critical healthcare financing gap in Africa while building a resilient healthcare ecosystem that improves access, affordability, resilience, and quality of healthcare for low-income patients. It will target three critical areas serving low-income patients: supply chain transformation, innovative care delivery, and digital innovation.

THF’s investments will target countries across sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on East, Southern, and Francophone West Africa. This investment is designed to contribute to addressing the acute need for quality and affordable healthcare across the continent.

THF’s investment strategy explicitly targets health services for women as one of its main investment objectives. Some of its investments are constructed with a strong gender lens, targeting women-led businesses and serving increasing numbers of women.

Anne Marie Chidzero, Chief Investment Officer, FSD Africa Investments said: “FSDAi is excited to announce its catalytic capital investment in the innovative THF fund. We are proud that our capital contribution to this tranche of the fund facilitated the participation of other commercial and corporate private sector investors. Partnering with AfricInvest, HFC and the additional fund participants to strengthen the African healthcare system, particularly in a time of environmental stress and unpredictable climate events, is a high priority for FSDAi.”

Louise Walker, Head of Private Sector and Capital Markets Department, FCDO said: “The UK is excited with FSDAi to be a catalytic investor in the Transform Health Fund. This is an innovative partnership that brings together concessional and private finance which will in turn mobilise more capital, critical to making healthcare more accessible to and more affordable for low-income patients across the continent. I’m particularly pleased to see that investments will target women-led businesses and services will also focus on women, where we know maternal and infant mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa is well above SDG goals.”

AfricInvest, with its three decades of expertise and insight, will play a critical role in leveraging a wide range of support throughout many regions of the continent, providing financing for companies in the health sector, helping African local markets to both scale up their own healthcare systems as well as creating regional champions.

“As health financing needs continue to grow and healthcare demands increase, it is a critical we work toward closing Africa’s massive health financing gap,” said Martin Edlund, CEO, Malaria No More and Executive Director of the Health Finance Coalition. “The Transform Health Fund serves a vital role in catalyzing capital to scale healthcare solutions.”

THF’s partners include Royal Philips, Merck & Co., Inc., known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), International Finance Corporation (IFC), Swedfund, FSD Africa Investments, Netri Foundation, Anesvad Foundation, Grand Challenges Canada (with funding from Global Affairs Canada), Chemonics International, and MCJ Amelior Foundation. The fund is expected to attract additional investors who share the goal of improving healthcare in Africa.

ASEA nears uniting Africa’s stock exchanges

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The African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA) is moving closer to linking the African capital markets by facilitating cross-border trading and free movement of investments in Africa.
Already, the African Exchanges Linkage Project(AELP) has onboarded 30 broker firms to facilitate cross-border trading.

Meanwhile, Ethiopia’s Ministry of Finance, the Ethiopian Investment Holdings and FSD Africa, has signed a cooperation agreement to establish the Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX).
Once established, the ESX will become the 30th exchange on the continent. At least fifty companies, including banks and insurance companies, are expected to list at the launch of the exchange. The exchange is designed to provide a fundraising platform for small and medium-size enterprises, which are the backbone of the Ethiopian economy. The exchange will also offer a platform for the privatisation of Ethiopia’s state-owned enterprises.

In the past few years, the Ethiopian government has implemented several reforms to open the economy and the launch of a securities exchange will be a catalyst for attracting new investment from the private sector.

In a joint statement, the three parties said that through the Exchange, the Government of Ethiopia will be able to finance its budget deficits by issuing long-term bonds in local currency thereby reducing reliance on inflationary and foreign sources of budget financing.

Through the cooperation agreement, FSD Africa will fund technical support, legal advice, and the costs associated with getting the exchange operational.

“The establishment of a securities exchange, the first in our nation’s history, through such a public-private partnership will usher a new era for the Ethiopian financial industry and the economy as a whole. Today’s cooperation agreement between the Ministry of Finance, EIH, and FSD Africa is a first concrete step towards realizing our vision,” said H.E Ato Ahmed Shide, Minister, Ministry of Finance.

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FSD Africa £1 million in Africa Climate Ventures

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…The investment represents the first institutional backing for the venture builder, which aims to assemble a portfolio of businesses focused on climate action across Africa, boosting continental participation in global carbon markets.

FSD Africa Investments (FSDAi) has invested £1 million in Africa Climate Ventures (ACV), a pioneering venture builder working to build a US$45 million portfolio by the end of 2024.

ACV will catalyse the carbon asset class in Africa by building innovative businesses focused on solving our generation’s greatest challenge and at the same time capturing a significant share of global carbon markets in Africa.

The venture represents a series of “firsts” in Africa: from its entirely Africa-based founder team and its permanent capital structure based in Kigali International Financial Centre, to its exclusive focus on carbon mitigation, capture and removal, the continent’s fastest evolving sector.

ACV represents a historic evolution in Africa’s carbon ecosystem and will contribute directly to capital mobilisation in climate action. Indeed, by 2030 ACV aims to eliminate one million tonnes of carbon every year while improving the lives of 50 million Africans and creating at least 5,000 jobs on the continent.

The venture builder features a peerless bench of experienced Africa-based founders with a record of pioneering innovation on the continent and championing disruptive enterprises.

James Mwangi is a 2022 Climate Breakthrough Award Winner and the founder of the Climate Action Platform for Africa, a non-profit organization that aims to help Africa achieve broad-based economic growth through climate action leadership.

James is best known as a co-founder of Dalberg Advisors, the firm’s first elected Global Managing Partner and then Dalberg Group’s Executive Director.

Mohamed Cassim is a South African investor best known as an angel investor, the Chair of MFS Africa Board, and the Founder of Abacus Advisory. CJ Fonzi was also a Partner at Dalberg Advisors, with the firm for over a decade he served as the Group Director of Innovation and then founded Dalberg’s Rwanda business in 2017.

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This team is working to build a portfolio of climate positive businesses across Africa, with the ultimate aim of launching and scaling 15 ventures in the next four years.

ACV is seeking to build this portfolio by investing to:

  1. bring proven global climate technology to Africa,
  2. accelerate and de-risk the continental expansion of technologies and business models that have gained traction in one or a few African market(s), and
  3. add carbon revenue streams to existing African businesses with the potential to scale climate positive solutions.

ACV has adopted a structure more in-line with a global north venture studio in which the vehicle is structured as a permanent capital vehicle which sells equity rather than securing fund management mandates.

This has allowed ACV to begin building ventures in parallel with fund raising, which the founders believe is paramount given the urgency of climate change, and the need for Africa to quickly establish itself as part of the solution.

There are already two ventures in the portfolio:

KOKO Networks Rwanda, a co-venture between ACV and KOKO Networks which already provides sustainable bioethanol cooking fuel to over 900,000 Kenyan families and aims to reach a million Rwandan families by 2027, and Great Carbon Valley, a Kenya based developer of direct-use clean energy applications currently focused on developing a direct air capture and permanent carbon storage site in Kenya.

ACV’s pipeline of further opportunities demonstrates the breadth and versatility of the venture builder. They range from biochar and enhanced rock weathering technologies, to biodigester and e-mobility businesses, to harvesting carbon revenue for green growth across the portfolio of a well-established continental private equity fund.

These are businesses and technologies which have the capacity to transform African economies and make a meaningful difference in climate change but they require risk capital and hands on venture builders to scale, attract further investment, and reach their potential.

FSDAi’s investment in ACV takes the form of a convertible loan of £1 million to support the venture builder’s formalisation and build additional ventures as demonstrations to attract investment from larger funds.

On top of this investment, FSD Africa will provide £75,000 in grant funding to support the development of premium carbon credits and the marketing of portfolio and pipeline companies. Moving forward, FSDAi has secured the right to invest up to £8 million in ACV’s planned 2024 close.

FSDAi is the investment arm of specialist financial development agency FSD Africa which receives funding from the UK government and provides tools and resources to drive large-scale change in financial markets and support sustainable economic development.

ACV is the latest in a series of investments by FSDAi in innovative green investment vehicles including Persistent Energy, a leader and pioneer investor in the off-grid energy and e-mobility sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa, and Nithio, which invests in renewable off-grid energy.

FSDAi has committed to support ACV on the basis that its activities will actively contribute to Africa’s transition to net-zero, the promotion and acceleration of the continent’s green sector, and the creation of quality, skilled jobs (around 600 will be created via this initial £1 million investment) in a strategically vital sector.

Ultimately, FSD Africa believes that ACV can help the continent’s businesses participate in global carbon markets and capitalise on the continent’s unrivalled capacity for profitable climate-smart businesses.

Moreover, FSDAi’s investment aligns with the emerging priorities of African policymakers who will gather in Kenya in September at the Africa Climate Summit to co-ordinate a unified, collective pan-African approach to the discussions at the next COP in Dubai.

Anne-Marie Chidzero, CIO of FSD Africa Investments, said:

“In backing the ACV partners, FSDAi sees a tremendous opportunity to galvanise global investment and finance to promote Africa’s status as the pre-eminent climate investment destination.’’

James Mwangi, CEO of Africa Climate Ventures, said: “We are thrilled that FSDAi has joined us in building ACV.  The involvement of FSDAi has already been invaluable in refining the ACV model. As we work towards ambitious objectives, we believe FSDAi will be a key partner in ensuring our success.”

Rachel Turner, Director, International Finance, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, said:

“We are excited to be supporting this enterprising partnership between FSD Africa and ACV. The need to mobilise climate finance for Africa has never been greater, and this can’t happen without innovations that can build the pipeline of opportunities to absorb and deploy capital into productive, sustainable and inclusive uses. Tapping into the developing carbon market ecosystem represents a significant opportunity for Africa to raise capital at affordable terms whilst contributing directly to the climate challenge. This partnership with an impressive African team is pioneering in its approach.”

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Lab announces new class of ground-breaking solutions to drive public and private investment in emerging markets

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LONDON – Members of the Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance (the Lab) gathered in London to select the innovative climate finance solutions that will be accelerated in 2023. Lab members voted to choose six new models to channel investments in challenging sectors such as climate adaptation and gender equality.

“We are thrilled about the quality and breadth of the types of innovative financial solutions that we see in this new Lab cycle. It’s fantastic that our members continue to help the Lab expand our boundaries, focusing more on where we can have the highest impact on the ground,” said Dr. Barbara Buchner, Global Managing Director of Climate Policy Initiative.

The Lab is an investor-led initiative that identifies, develops, and launches promising solutions to drive critical public and private investment in climate change in developing economies. Each year, the Lab competition selects promising, early-stage ideas for sustainable investment and rapidly develops these ideas into fundable, scalable investment vehicles and business models.

“This year, we were excited to introduce a Gender Equality stream and expand our Africa program,” said Lab Associate Director Ben Broché. “We need to see a rapid scale-up of investment across sectors, and the Lab is always keen to take on new challenges: since we launched nine years ago, the Lab has developed 62 solutions that have mobilized USD 3.5 billion for climate action in emerging markets.”

In 2023, the Lab received around 150 applications from leading asset managers, development finance institutions, global NGOs, prominent project developers, financial services firms, and entrepreneurs. The winners will undergo seven months of analysis, stress-testing, development, and preparation for launch later this year.

2023 LAB WINNERS

Catalyst Climate Resilience Fund supports pre-seed climate adaptation startups that improve the resilience of vulnerable African communities, fostering a more robust ecosystem of climate adaptation innovations. Catalyst Fund and BFA Global, an innovation consulting firm headquartered in Kenya, spearhead the idea

Climate Resilient Landscape Finance (CRLF) is a first-of-its-kind model where financiers, conservancy management, and landowners collectively share the risks and rewards of sustainable land management activities. The proponent is Platcorp, an established microlender and asset manager in Eastern and Southern Africa.

Impact Financing Facility for Climate-Focused Social Enterprises offers blended finance instruments to support social enterprises adopting climate-smart technologies and establishing a track record to access commercial capital. The idea proponent is Villgro, an Indian social enterprise incubator.

Lendable Emerging Market Sustainability-Linked Loan Fund provides loans to SMEs for implementing climate solutions. Borrowers who reach targets get lower interest, and the fund earns carbon credits. Proponent Lendable offers financing solutions for companies with a positive impact.

Social Infra Ventures (SIV) is a pan-African rental platform to service low and lower-middle-income families and vulnerable groups in Africa’s secondary cities designed around women’s needs. SIV will partner up with Cardano Development to pilot the idea in Morocco.

The VOX VERT Land Use Transition Fund finances the transition to sustainable agriculture in the Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado regions through a private credit fund with a blended finance structure. The proponents are Vert, a securitization company, and Vox Capital, an impact investment house.

Lab Members’ Quotes

Ajibola Olalowo, Advisor, German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), said: “The Lab has been successful in delivering impact over almost one decade. Investments in Lab ideas span the globe, including challenging sectors such as climate risk, nature-based solutions, sustainable cities, and gender equality. However, there is still work to be done in mobilizing private finance for climate action, and Lab’s ideas are crucial for strengthening private sector investments to keep 1.5° alive.”

Antha Williams, who leads Bloomberg Philanthropies’ environment program, said: “Innovative financial solutions that address the climate crisis are pivotal to transitioning to a low-carbon economy at the speed and scale necessary. The Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance’s innovative approach helps identify, develop, and scale pioneering financial instruments that are making a tangible impact in combating climate change. Bloomberg Philanthropies is delighted to support the India Lab to help transform promising ideas into viable investment opportunities that drive climate action in India.”

Sumaiya Sajjad, Head of the Technical Assistance Facility, FinDev Canada, said: “FinDev Canada is committed to advancing opportunities in the gender and climate nexus area through our investments and partnerships, which includes our support to the Lab. Women are disproportionately affected by climate change despite being at the forefront of adopting climate-smart solutions. The Lab is well positioned to support innovative solutions with an intentional gender approach and to capitalize on the growing momentum across the investment landscape to increase gender-responsive climate finance offerings.”

Nine additional ideas made it to the finalist stage

  • Altree Kadzi Gender Climate Fund, Altree Capital
  • Climate Agriculture Debt Restructuring Facility (CADRF), Abt Associates
  • Food&Forest, Impact Bank Amazônia Securitizadora de Créditos S/A
  • Gender-Based Smallholder Economic Liberation Project, Prado Power Limited
  • Green India Fund, Green Artha
  • Infrastructure Climate Resilient Fund (ICRF), AFC Capital Partners
  • Mobilize: De-risking E-mobility, VAI Capital
  • Offgrid Finance Pop-up SPV, Offgrid.finance Limited

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FMDQ Group, FSD Africa help bridge gender finance gap in Africa

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FMDQ Group Plc and Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) Africa – the Implementing Partners of the Nigerian Green Bond Market Development Programme (the Programme) – organised a two-day event in Lagos, to introduce the concept of gender bonds to key market players within the Nigeria financial markets space. The event examined the state of gender equality in Nigeria and discussed the opportunities for Nigerian issuers and investors to use gender-sensitive/intentional approaches in bridging the gender finance gap in Nigeria. Also, it afforded potential issuers an opportunity to learn from the Tanzanian experience in navigating the issuance process of a gender bond.

External shocks such as pandemics, climatic disruptions, and economic downturns, have continuously had adverse impacts on humanity, with vulnerable groups, such as women, and their businesses being badly hit. Consequently, financial market players globally, as well as in Africa, are now empowering women and expanding their access to finance and economic inclusion through a debt market instrument that seeks to support the advancement and equality of women – the gender bond. Although at its emerging stage, understanding the gender bond framework for Nigeria’s debt market can play a crucial role in supporting the efforts to attain the United Nations (UN)’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 5 and 10 – Gender Equality and Reduced Inequalities, respectively.

In attendance at the event were Ben Llewellyn-Jones OBE, Deputy High Commissioner, British Deputy High Commission, Lagos, Beatrice Eyong, United Nations Women Country Representative to Nigeria, Bola Onadele. Koko, Chief Executive Officer, FMDQ Group Plc, Ruth Zaipuna, Chief Executive Officer, NMB Bank Plc, Mary Njuguna, Principal Specialist, Capital Markets, FSD Africa, as well as other market stakeholders.

The first day featured a Breakfast Session for C-Suite Executives and highlighted the impact sustainable finance can have in driving women’s economic empowerment, as well as increased participants’ knowledge and awareness of gender bonds.
Welcoming participants to the event, Bola Onadele. Koko, Chief Executive Officer, of FMDQ Group Plc gave a broad overview of the Programme’s achievements from its inception in 2018 till date in the areas of policy advisory, technical support for green bond issuances, and market capacity building. He challenged everyone within their individual areas of expertise to be encouraged by the progress of the Programme as it relates to green bonds and similarly, push the envelope with gender bonds as we continue to develop and entrench the principles of sustainability in the Nigerian capital markets whilst facilitating prosperity for all.

The Breakfast Session featured a panel discussion themed, “The Role of Financial Markets in Strengthening Gender Financing in Nigeria”, with panellists including the Chief Executive Officer of NMB Bank Plc of Tanzania, a representative of British International Investment PLC, an Associate Director of PwC Nigeria, a representative of FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited, a Deputy Director of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigeria, and the Gender Network Manager, FSD Africa.

The panellists established the business case for investing in women-owned/led businesses, women-focused initiatives and the urgency for closing the $ 42 billion gender financing gap in Africa. Also, the panellists reiterated the importance of leveraging sustainable and innovative financial instruments such as gender bonds in financing women-owned/led businesses.

The second day presented a Masterclass which featured a deep dive into the modalities surrounding the issuance of NMB Bank Plc’s first gender bond in Tanzania (Jasiri Bond). The Treasurer of NMB Bank Plc, during his session, stirred the zeal of potential issuers to the impact of women empowerment through a gender bond as he shared the stories of the beneficiaries of the NMB Bank Plc’s Jasiri Bond.

According to Sustainalytics, a global leader in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) research, and a technical partner for the gender bond awareness sessions, the key steps required for a gender bond issuance include the development of a framework, disclosure of information to an external reviewer, documentation of a second opinion, development of a pre-issuance report, and annual documentation of the impact of the gender bond.

The event ended with the Implementing Partners of the Programme reiterating their commitment to support institutions willing to bridge the gender finance gap, as well as other sustainable financing gaps in Nigeria, through financial instruments like sustainable or sustainability-linked bonds that is, gender bonds, green bonds, blue bonds, social bonds, and others. The Programme was launched in 2018 to create awareness and education on green finance, whilst serving as the primary vehicle to explore and implement initiatives geared towards accelerating the development of the Nigerian Green Bond Market and supporting broader debt market reforms that impact green bonds, through its Implementing Partners, FMDQ Group and FSD Africa.

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Regulations for insurance sandbox to deepen innovation, financial inclusion in Nigeria

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May 17th, 2023, Lagos – In a strategic move to deepen insurance penetration and financial inclusion through innovation in Nigeria, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has released the insurance regulatory sandbox operational guidelines.

The guidelines are designed to determine insurance solicitation or distribution within the insurance value chain, facilitate insurance products; underwriting; policy & claims servicing, etc., before making them public.

The Insurance Regulatory Sandbox Operational Guidelines include Market Conduct Guidelines for Takaful and Retakaful Insurance Operators and Enterprise Risk Management Framework for Takaful and Retakaful Operators in Nigeria.

Takaful Insurance is generally based on the concept that the negative impact of a specific incident is distributed among a group of persons instead of making the person who experienced the loss bear its results alone. The means to achieve this is to establish a common fund to which everyone exposed to a specific risk may contribute in such a way that indemnity will be paid from that fund.

Retakaful is the Islamic alternative to conventional reinsurance and operates on Shariah principles. It is a way for a primary insurer to protect against unforeseen or extraordinary losses.

FSD Africa supported by the UK government has been providing technical support to NAICOM to enhance its ability to fulfill its development, regulation, and supervision mandate to support market development, market stability promoting innovation, and protection of policyholders in line with international standards.

The launch of the regulatory sandbox is part of the NAICOM’s strategic objective to drive innovation of products and services, and ensure operators are professional in the conduct of their businesses and in line with best practices.

Commenting on the launch of the regulatory sandbox:

British Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, Ben Llewellyn-Jones said:

“Insurance remains a critical tool in building the resilience of businesses, livelihoods, and households globally. With the persistence of climate risks / disasters and fluctuating economic realities in Nigeria, it is more important for the insurance industry to leverage innovation to develop more contextualised products and services that would mitigate the risks for Nigerians and their businesses.

“The UK government is keen to see this innovation delivered in consultation with the insurance industry and regulators to maximise the usefulness and impact of this tool.”

Director, Risk and Resilience, FSD Africa, Kelvin Massingham said:

“It is vital for NAICOM to balance the need to facilitate and promote innovation with the protection of consumers and the adequate management of the risks that may arise. Support on market development focusing on regulating for innovation, will establish an environment that responds to innovation and market changes on an ongoing basis by building internal capacity, instruments and re-shaping their engagement with the private sector to foster a culture of innovation, learning and testing innovations.”

Another guideline released last week by NAICOM was the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Framework which is intended to establish minimum Risk Management Standards for Takaful Insurance Operators (TIOs) in Nigeria.

Under this guideline, all Takaful Insurance undertaking will henceforth establish and maintain a sound ERM Framework to support the adequacy of its solvency and comply with all relevant Sharia rules and principles.

This framework is expected to be “comprehensive in nature, dealing with all reasonably foreseeable and relevant material risks of the funds making up the Takaful Undertaking, and shall be formalized through a set of policies, consistently applied, the TIO’s approach to determining the appetite for risk, its process for managing risks and its Governance related to risk.

South African insurance stakeholders commit to sustainable insurance and building a resilient economy

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May 12th, 2023, JOHANNESBURG – South African insurance stakeholders have stressed the importance of all businesses across Africa in engaging with the net-zero ambitions, agreeing that by playing its role, the insurance industry will be critical in building a sustainable environment for the future.

FSD Africa and the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) held a C-Suite breakfast session with CEOs of South Africa’s Insurance Industry and Regulators with a call to action to commit to the Nairobi Declaration on Sustainable Insurance as a first step toward creating a sustainable insurance industry and building resilience for the continent.

The event was an opportunity to cover the risks, challenges and opportunities facing the South African insurance industry in adapting to and mitigating climate change and responding to broader sustainability objectives. The session highlighted key considerations for South African insurance market players to enhance the resilience of the South African economy and have a responsive sector primed for contributing toward a more sustainable future. It is estimated that South Africa holds 70% of the African insurance industry’s market premiums1. As investors and stewards of significant financial resources, the sector must consider the role they play on the continent in driving sustainability objectives.

Formally launched in April 2021, the Nairobi Declaration on Sustainable Insurance (NDSI) is a declaration of commitment by African insurance industry leaders to support the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Declaration was first unveiled in Nairobi, Kenya, at the UN Environment Programme’s Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI) initiative 4th Africa summit – hosted by ICEA LION Group as a founding signatory – and momentum continues to build.

With backing from more than ten inaugural signatories, the Declaration brings together senior leaders to accelerate solutions to a set of major sustainability challenges – ranging from climate change and ecosystem degradation to poverty and social inequality – that have assumed even greater urgency in a post-Covid-19 world. Currently, 102 organisations across the continent have signed up to the declaration.

Since its launch, FSD Africa has supported the Declaration through a series of events and thought leadership engagements as it encourages more institutions to sign up. The first in a series of planned C-Suite meetings was hosted in Lagos, Nigeria, in March 2022 by UNEP, FSD Africa and the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) of Nigeria. Other C-Suite events have been held in Cairo, Egypt, Nairobi, Kenya and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Speaking during the event, Kelvin Massingham, Director, Risk and Resilience, FSD Africa said: “Mainstreaming resilience into Africa’s economic development is essential to secure future prosperity and sustainable growth. Now is the time for the African insurance sector to play the significant role it should in creating this resilience. The Nairobi Declaration on Sustainable Insurance’s proactive and market-based approach is exactly what we need, and the commitment today is a strong statement to work together towards an African-led solution.”

Unathi Kamlana, Commissioner, Financial Sector Conduct Authority said” The financial sector is fundamental as an allocator of capital within an economy. We will continue working collaboratively with stakeholders, in South Africa and more broadly, to ensure that our sector is efficiently and effectively able to intermediate and direct capital flows in support of sustainable outcomes, while appropriately pricing for risks and promoting investor confidence.”

Anthony Phillipson, British High Commissioner to South Africa, said: “The financial sector has a key role to play in delivering our climate commitments. I am happy to see that sustainable finance is fast becoming a cornerstone of our UK-South Africa green partnership. I particularly welcome collaboration to strengthen capacities and embed sustainable practices across the insurance and pension industries in South Africa.”

Swiss Firm Partners With Local Insurers To Build Low – Cost Health Products For Local Communities

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NAIROBI, Kenya, April 27 – Swiss Capacity Building Facility (SCBF) and APA Insurance have partnered with a consortium of local insurance innovators to provide affordable primary healthcare insurance solutions to under-served Kenyans.

The innovators include Paa Insurance Agency; an inclusive insurance distribution specialist, Emerging Markets; a research and design consultancy firm, Ilara Health; a network of primary healthcare facilities and Democrance; a SaaS plug-and-play insurance technology provider.

The partners have developed an innovative solution designed with a hybrid model of capitation costs, and in-patient benefit for patients who become hospitalised.

“We are proud to launch this innovative initiative which will see thousands of under-served households in rural and peri-urban Kenya have access to sustainable primary health care financing solutions to protect their families against out-of-pocket expenses that could otherwise force them into poverty,” said Dana Ellis, Senior Operations Manager at SCBF.

The technical assistance funding from SCBF will contribute to strengthening financial inclusion and increasing resilience against primary healthcare costs for under-served communities in Kenya, intending to reach at least 50 per cent of women.

This is aligned to the Government of Kenya’s 2030 financial inclusion strategy to ensure that no person in Kenya is left out of reach of financial services, to increase their resilience against risks beyond their control, while also improving their access to essential healthcare services.

Speaking at the launch of the project , APA Group CEO Ashok Shah noted that, “it is important for insurers to think beyond offering insurance to the affluent customer segment.”

He emphasised that the future of insurance lies in tapping into the majority of the population which remains uninsured.

APA has been at the forefront of supporting inclusive insurance solutions targeting the middle and lower base of the economic pyramid, and shall continue to do so with this initiative, to create social and sustainable impact within the communities.

The demand for new innovative insurance solutions, over the last few years, has seen an emergence of insurtechs (insurance innovators who use technology to create and improve insurance solutions) and simplified customer experiences facilitating the purchase, service and making of claims without the barriers associated with mainstream insurance.

This proliferation has particularly been fueled by the regulator-backed programme, BimaLab, in partnership with Financial Sector Deepening Africa (FSD Africa).

BimaLab is an accelerator program that supports early insurtech innovators to develop innovative insurance solutions.

Elias Omondi, Senior Manager Risk Regulation at FSD Africa, who inspired the birth of BimaLab remarked, “We’re thrilled to see startups that have gone through BimaLab launch innovative products that will redefine how insurance is offered and accessed in the Kenyan market, and even beyond our borders. We will work closely with the innovators, the insurer and the regulator to see that the project achieves its intended impact.”

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The African Green Bank initiative provides $1.6 million to support the first Green Finance Facilities in Africa

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( AfDB) – The African Development Bank has launched the African Green Bank Initiative to tackle Africa’s key barriers to climate financing and promote resilient, green and sustainable growth.

The Green Bank Initiative will be supported by the African Green Finance Facility Fund (AG3F), which aims at developing an ecosystem of local and regional Green Finance Facilities to mobilize private investment in support of climate transition. AG3F promotes the deployment of the Green Bank Model throughout the continent. To ensure rapid deployment, AG3F will partner with existing local financial institutions and leverage on their network, financing capacity and experienced staff.

For its pilot phase, AG3F aims at mobilizing $10 million for the technical assistance, of which $1.6 million have already been secured, and $90 million to support the capitalization of the first Green Finance Facilities. Contributors will include donor countries, multilateral development banks, development finance institutions (DFI), climate funds and philanthropic or impact investors. First beneficiaries include Banque Nationale d’Investissement de Côte d’Ivoire and Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations du Bénin, which will develop pipelines of clean energy, resilient infrastructures or smart agriculture projects.

Green Finance Facilities will support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and local communities by offering direct access to climate finance. The initiative will help African countries implement Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), as investment needs are estimated at $2.8 trillion by 2030 and funds invested on the continent still represent a limited share of global green finance flows.

AG3F will benefit from best practices and support of strategic partners for the creation, financing and deployment of Green Banks. These partners have built an international reputation in the area of climate finance and include the leading European asset manager Amundi, the knowledge platform Green Bank Network, the leading multilateral fund Climate Investment Funds (CIF) and Canada’s Climate Action in Africa project.

Audrey-Cynthia Yamadjako, co-ordinator of the Green Bank initiative, welcomed the onboarding of those partners in the AG3F projects: “We are delighted to start the work with our partners in the pilot phase of AG3F. We will benefit from their technical knowledge, investment vehicles and funding capacity to create the first African Green Finance Facilities”.

According to African Development Bank Vice President for Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialization,Solomon Quaynor, “technical assistance will enhance Green Finance Facilities’ green project management and governance and is therefore key to attract private capital by entrenching long-term investor confidence.” Technical assistance will be needed to create Green Finance Facilities and build up their technical capacities, including by implementing monitoring, risk evaluation and reporting tools and structuring a bankable pipeline of green projects.

Upon launch of the African Green Bank Initiative at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt in November 2022, African Development Bank Vice President for Energy, Power, Climate and Green Growth, Kevin Kariuki highlighted that the initiative was a key stepping stone to meet Sharm El Sheikh implementation plan.

“The Green Bank Initiative is a powerful tool for reducing financing costs and mobilizing private sector investments in climate action in Africa,” Kariuki said. He said multilateral development banks and international financial institutions had a crucial role in enabling local financial institutions to develop a green pipeline of sustainable and “Paris-aligned” projects.

The initiative is part of the African Financial Alliance on Climate Change (AFAC). Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group, explained as part of AFAC that mobilizing the financial sector will be key to address climate change in Africa: “Africa’s financial actors need to work together creatively to mobilize global financial resources at scale that can support local innovation, and that drive climate-resilient and low-carbon development on the continent”.

About the African Development Bank Group

As Africa’s premier development finance institution, African Development Bank (AfDB) objective is to spur sustainable economic development and social progress in African countries, thus contributing to poverty reduction. AfDB’s strategy for 2013-2022 focuses on two objectives: improving the quality of Africa’s growth and the transition to green growth.

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