UNDP at the 50th AIO Conference: Coping with Rising Catastrophes Across Africa

As a strategic partner of African Insurance Organisation (AIO), UNDP’s Insurance and Risk Finance Facility supports AIO’s commitment to strengthen an insurance industry that protects people, communities, businesses, and countries from crises and disasters towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

At the upcoming AIO conference, 1 – 5 June 2024 in Windhoek, Namibia, the UNDP will have a strong presence, including:

1. Inviting the Head of African Continental Free Trade Area's (AfCFTA) Finance Sector Division to update industry leaders on the status/progress made in the review of the Common Financial Services regulatory framework affecting the Insurance Industry.
2. Host a panel session on Impact Management Practices in the African (Re)Insurance Industry.
3. Host a round table with AIO Executive Committee members, the Organization of African Insurance Supervisory Authorities (OAISA), AfCFTA and other critical stakeholders to explore opportunities for collaboration on shaping a coordinated review of the Common Financial Services regulatory framework affecting the Insurance Industry.

About AIO and its 50th Conference

The African Insurance Organisation (AIO) will hold its AIO Conference on 1 – 5 June 2024 in Windhoek, Namibia under the theme Coping with Rising Natural Catastrophes Across Africa. The AIO promotes best practices and initiates projects which demonstrate the benefits of insurance to consumers, regulators and policymakers and equally enhance the strategic partnerships with African insurance associations through a focus on specific value propositions. In its 50thedition, the AIO Conference will offer an opportunity to meet up with leaders that reshape the future of African insurance and reinsurance.

UNDP and the AfCFTA (Finance Sector Division) at the AIO Conference

UNDP’s engagement with the AfCFTA (Finance Sector Division) and leading regional insurers and reinsurers has delivered feedback that the insurance industry seeks greater involvement and consultation in the AfCFTA's ongoing work to review policies under the Common Financial Services regulatory framework.

Insurance leaders, in light of their very specialised discipline, are requesting greater inclusion and to co-lead these discussions going forward. UNDP signed a three year MoU with the AfCFTA Secretariat, contributing to policy coordination and capacity building for AfCFTA State Parties as they operationalize the continental trade agreement. UNDP is directly working with governments, regional blocs, and the private sector on market access, investments, and regulatory coherence for the mobility of goods, services, and capital across African borders. Similarly, UNDP’s Regulation as a Stimulus (RaaS) is “a series of policy and regulatory measures aimed at accelerating intra-African trade facilitation and trade promotion” and can be adopted as a means of accelerating the growth of the African insurance market. In other words, governments can critically offset some of the short-term adjustment costs associated with increased openness thereby relieving businesses from high ‘export’ costs and hence providing a stimulus to trade.

Businesses and investors are recognizing the important link between sustainability and future profitability. (Re)insurers are looking for ways to operate more sustainably, have net positive impact on the world around them, adhere to emerging regulations, and in the process future-proof their organizations and portfolios. Given the significant volume of assets held under management by the insurance industry in Africa alongside other institutional investors, (re)insurers have a key role to play in achieving the SDGs and making sustainability contributions through deploying their own capital.

UNDP on Impact Management in the African (Re)Insurance Industry

Understanding the impact organisations have is a challenge, and navigating the multiplicity of impact management standards, principles, frameworks, and tools can be overwhelming. Through UNDP's Africa Sustainable Finance Hub (ASFH), a panel discussion at the AIO Conference will offer thought leadership on impact management in African contexts, make the business case for SDG investments, clarify key concepts such as impact and ESG and take stock of current sustainability tools and practices among organisations. It will also explore impact management opportunities for (re)insurers to deliver on the SDGs. Through contributions by African impact management leaders, the discussion will introduce and particularly draw on experiences with the SDG Impact Standards, which offer a holistic universal framework and management approach for embedding sustainability and the SDGs in all decision-making across organizational purpose and strategy, internal management, disclosure, and governance practices.

A summary of the UNDP session discussions and key takeaways from the AIO Conference will be share post event.