Uganda

Overview

Uganda is a Least Developed Country (LDC) in which two-thirds of the workforce are employed in agriculture. With climate change increasing the incidence of hazards like drought and flooding, the combination of increasing hazard risk and decreasing resilience makes climate change a driver of disaster risk, increasing the impact of disasters on the poor. In these circumstances, insurance services are a crucial risk management tool. Insurance and risk finance solutions are needed to protect key sectors and mitigate the impact of disasters on lives, livelihoods and infrastructure across the country.
UNDP’s Insurance and Risk Finance Facility is working with government and international partners to improve institutional capacity and build financial protection to safeguard vulnerable groups and economic sectors and incentivize sustainable growth.

Main Natural Hazards

Drought, Flood, Earthquake

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Source:

https://drmkc.jrc.ec.europa.eu/inform-index/INFORM-Risk/Country-Risk-Profile}

State of multidimensional fragility

Fragile

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Source:

https://www3.compareyourcountry.org/states-of-fragility}

% of population covered by inclusive insurance products

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Source:
The Microinsurance Network, Landscape of Microinsurance 2023, Based on target population estimate for Uganda of 27,676,946 people
https://microinsurancenetwork.org/resources/the-landscape-of-microinsurance-2023}

Biodiversity ranking

#34 out of 239 countries and territories (2023)

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Source:

https://worldrainforests.com/03highest_biodiversity.htm}

Small business % contribution to workforce

70% of total employment (2021)

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¹
Source:

https://www.mtic.go.ug/mtic-joins-the-rest-of-the-world-to-celebrates-international-msme-day-2021/}

Multidimensional poverty

57.2% (2016)

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¹
Source:

https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/hdp-document/2023mpireporten.pdf}

Insurance penetration

0.88% (2022)

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Source:

https://ira.go.ug/insurance-sector-posts-strong-growth-in-2022/}

Number of insurance providers

8 life insurance companies, 20 non-life insurance companies and 2 microinsurance companies

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Source:

https://ira.go.ug/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/LICENSED-COMPANIES-2023.pdf}

% Workforce engaged in agriculture

66% (2022)

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¹
Source:

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.AGR.EMPL.ZS}

Our projects

Improving smallholder farmers’ financial resilience
Working with government, private sector and industry, the Financial Resilience in Agriculture (FRA) Initiative, powered by a partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is boosting smallholder farmers’ financial resilience and accelerating their adaptation to climate change.
FRA is developing an innovative agricultural insurance programme in Uganda that increases smallholder farmers’ financial protection and resilience and encourages them to adopt climate adaptation techniques and technologies.
Uganda is also a core member of the FRA Community of Practice (CoP) – a long-term peer-to-peer platform that focuses on how countries and partners can learn new and best practices for financial resilience for smallholder farmers.

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Enhancing disaster risk management and fostering learning opportunities
UNDP Insurance and Risk Finance Facility’s LDC Engagement Initiative is focused on helping Least Developed Countries increase their technical capacity to manage risk in the face of increasing climate challenges and limited financial resources. Under the Engagement Initiative, UNDP is working with Uganda’s government to build on existing work on climate-related risks to support and safeguard the country’s development and cover vulnerable groups against climate and disaster shocks through pre-arranged risk finance and insurance mechanisms.
UNDP is also focusing on encouraging South-South learning opportunities with other countries across the Engagement Initiative and working with industry stakeholders to provide training for local professionals on inclusive insurance.

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Incentivizing the development of new insurance products and services across emerging economies
UNDP’s Insurance Innovation Challenges are powering a new generation of insurance products and services tailored to underserved households and businesses in developing economies.
- Active in 25 countries, with an investment of over US$2.1 million
- Addressing specific barriers and opportunities to scale financial protection, with a particular focus on women, SMEs and other vulnerable groups
- Creating market opportunities for insurance providers and safeguarding development.
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