10TH EUROPEAN MICROFINANCE AWARD 2019

The objective of the European Microfinance Award 2019 “Strengthening Resilience to Climate Change” is to recognise organisations active in the financial inclusion sector that provide financial and non-financial products and services aimed at strengthening the resilience of vulnerable communities to the effects of climate change.

 

APA INSURANCE LTD - KENYA

WINNER

APA Insurance Ltd (APA) was awarded the prize of €100,000 on November 21st, 2019 in recognition for its index-based area yield and livestock insurances programme:

Index based livestock Insurance (IBLI)

Livestock is the principle asset and key source of income in northern parts of Kenya which is mostly arid and semi-arid land. APA has been implementing IBLI programme since year 2015 in Kenya. IBLI insures pastoralists against forage deterioration that can lead to drought, resulting in livestock deaths. Forage availability is determined by satellite data. With the help of this solution pastoralists are now able to buy forage to keep the livestock alive or transport them to better grazing places during the drought situation.

Area Yield Index Insurance (AYII)

AYII product pays out claims to farmers when the average yield in their area falls below a set level, regardless of the actual yield on each client’s farm. This agriculture insurance protects farmers against the damage to the insured growing crops due to excessive rainfall, flood, frost, hail damage, excessive heat wave, windstorm, uncontrollable pest and diseases, and drought.

 

ASKI GROUP OF COMPANIES INC. - THE PHILIPPINES

RUNNER-UP

In the Philippines, where climate change means that natural disasters are occurring more frequently and with greater severity, ASKI Group of Companies, Inc. (ASKI), offers products dedicated to relief and reconstruction efforts, a savings-based resiliency fund and even rehabilitation loans and bridging loans for the most heavily affected customers.

The Filipino microfinance institution also provides agricultural microinsurance services in order to reduce the risks faced by its customers.

ASKI, as runner-up, received €10,000 in recognition for its dedicated products for disaster relief and recovery.

FINANCIERA FONDO DE DESARROLLO LOCAL (FDL) - NICARAGUA

RUNNER-UP

Financiera Fondo de Desarrollo Local (FDL) is a Microfinance Institution in Nicaragua whose response to the consequences of climate change was to provide local interventions to increase not only its customers’ resilience, but also that of the ecosystem.

FDL therefore offers the programme “Green Microfinance-Plus”, which reduces transaction costs, combines technical assistance with payments for ecological services and adapted loans for water-harvesting and irrigation systems, and incorporates silvopastoral agroforestry models for the intensification of cattle production based on integrated and sustainable natural processes, including pasture improvement, seed management and diversification, and soil conservation.

The technical assistance is provided by Nitlapán, the research and development institute of the Central American University of Nicaragua

FDL, as runner-up, received €10,000 in recognition of its multi-focused Green Microfinance-Plus programme.