Insurance Supervisors Panel | How to tackle Africa’s sub 3% insurance penetration rates?
Just over two-thirds of African insurance CEOs surveyed by ContinentalRe say penetration rates do not matter to them, revealing a troubling disconnect between market behaviour and public policy priorities. African insurance penetration (2.4% for life; 1.1% for non-life) is below global norms, and much lower outside South Africa, leaving millions exposed to climate, health, and […]
AFIS Steering Committee
Side Event CDG Capital – Bourse de Casablanca: Confidence, innovation, sovereignity: Morocco as the crossway of African finance
Access via sign-up on the event app or by invitation only. English-French translation available. Morocco is asserting itself as a major regional financial hub, developing solutions tailored to African realities and capable of inspiring the entire continent. With market infrastructures designed to protect investors and strengthen confidence, and the implementation of innovative financing mechanisms driven […]
Strategic Roundtable | Microfinance: Breaking free from debt-driven models
Access via sign-up on the event app or by invitation only. English-French translation available. Microfinance institutions (MFIs) face a regulatory divide across Africa: some can collect deposits, others are restricted to lending – shaping how they serve clients and fuel growth. In credit-only markets, MFIs must turn to alternative sources of capital, such as loans, […]
Panel | From dry ports to deep waters: Financing inland corridors and trade access for landlocked countries
With 16 landlocked countries – more than any other continent – Africa must urgently scale up investment in trade corridors linking its interior to seaports. These connections are costly – the Lobito Corridor alone requires up to $2.3bn – and better integration between intra-African trade routes and global markets remains a challenge. But innovative blended […]
Central Bank Governors Panel | A new global equation: Where can Africa turn for critical finance?
“The world as we know it has changed for aid, trade and development,” says the Director-General of the World Trade Organization. Sub-Saharan Africa nations this year face a 16-28% decline in official development assistance; pressure from trade tariffs, and a serious liquidity crunch and foreign currency shortage for commercial banks. Where will funding come from […]
Opening Panel | Unlocking Africa’s financial power: Time to mobilize domestic capital at scale
“External dependency is not a good development strategy,” warns AfDB in its 2025 economic outlook. Despite last year’s 75% FDI surge, leaner times loom as US tariffs and geopolitical rifts trigger aid cuts and subdue global economic activity. Africa must look within to trillions in untapped domestic capital – in pension funds, sovereign wealth vehicles, […]
Disrupters Club Panel | Co-designing AI-driven MSME finance with bank, fintech and MFI partnerships
Bank–fintech and microfinance institution (MFI) collaborations delivering digital banking, credit and payment products to Africa’s 44 million MSMEs live or die by how they’re structured. Some have collapsed due to profit sharing disputes and competitive tensions. Others, like Safaricom and NCBA’s M-Shwari have been vastly successful. Agreeing on profit and data sharing, allocating liability for […]
Panel | Green, social and blue Bonds and green sukuk: Building Africa’s climate finance toolbox
Africa represented less than 1% of global GSS bond issuances in 2024, with volumes dropping to just $1.35bn – down 25% from 2023. Despite Morocco issuing seven green bonds worth $500 million, most issuances remain one-off transactions. Notable niche issuances include Nigeria’s $30 million sovereign green sukuk (2017), Seychelles’ pioneering $15 million blue bond (2018), […]
Panel | Tech, climate & food ecosystem exposures: Can insurance absorb the coming shockwaves?
With cyberattacks targeting government coffers, a high-profile CNSS data leak in Morocco, and more frequent El Niños that left 20m facing hunger in Southern Africa last year: Africa’s insurance industry must build capacity to offer safety nets to mounting systemic threats. But with weather-related losses for Santam alone climbing 12% YOY to $36m and 91% […]