Blog Archives

What We’re Reading: Council on Foreign Relations, “Five Development Innovations to Watch in 2013″

MicroEnsure, the microinsurance subsidiary founded by Opportunity International, was recently recognized by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) as a “development innovation to watch in 2013.” In a blog post last month, CFR reported that MicroEnsure has “sign[ed] up a million [life insurance] customers [in Ghana] over 14 months, 85% of them new to insurance” by linking Read more…

Posted in Cell phone banking, Microinsurance, Our Work, Technology, What We're Reading, Where We Work
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MicroEnsure Ghana Crosses One Million Milestone for Number of Lives Insured

The following post was originally published on microensure.com. This July , five years after its inception, MicroEnsure Ghana achieved one of its greatest successes: it crossed the milestone of insuring one million Ghanaians, a remarkable achievement considering it was serving just 40,000 lives in 2010. Beginning operations in 2007, MicroEnsure Ghana has held its place Read more…

Posted in Microinsurance, Strategic Partners, Technology, Where We Work
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Cell Phones Deliver Life Insurance

In October 2010, Opportunity International’s microinsurance subsidiary, MicroEnsure, launched a pilot test with the mobile network Tigo Ghana around a new product embedded into the subscriber’s airtime purchases. The more airtime Tigo customers purchase, the more free life insurance they earn for themselves and a second family member. For Tigo, this insurance has helped reduce client churn Read more…

Posted in Microinsurance, Our Work, Technology, What We're Reading
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What We’re Reading: “Ten Biggest Positive Africa Stories of 2011,” The New Yorker

“…Yes, there is tragedy in Africa, and you will always find it there, and we must take those tragedies seriously, but there is also extraordinary opportunity. And if you see this continent as the continent of the future, it sort of reframes it. This is a continent that, by 2050, will be the largest and Read more…

Posted in Microinsurance, Our Work, Resources, Technology, What We're Reading, Where We Work
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Year-end Update from MicroEnsure, Providing a Powerful Safety Net for the World’s Most Vulnerable People

As we approach the end of year, we’re celebrating a big 2011 full of growth for MicroEnsure, Opportunity International‘s microinsurance subsidiary. Here are a few highlights from the year in review… • During 2011, MicroEnsure grew ten-fold in Africa to cover more than one million people in Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania. Within two years, the Read more…

Posted in Microinsurance, Our Work, Technology, Where We Work
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MicroEnsure Wins Financial Times/International Finance Corporation Sustainable Finance Award

The following news announcement appeared on MicroEnsure’s website on Friday, June 17. MicroEnsure has won the FT/IFC Sustainable Finance Award in the category Achievement in Financing at the Base of the Pyramid. The awards, organized by the Financial Times and the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, were announced on Thursday, Read more…

Posted in Events, Microinsurance, Our Work, Resources, Strategic Partners
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What We’re Watching: New Short Film by MicroEnsure on Cashless & Low-Cost Health Insurance in India

The following video was published in a blog post on microensure.com on June 14. MicroEnsure, a subsidiary of Opportunity International, is the world’s first microinsurance intermediary, and it serves people living in poverty with innovative products in crop, loan, health, life and property insurance, offering clients and their families a safety net when an unexpected Read more…

Posted in Microinsurance, Our Work, Where We Work
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The Christian Science Monitor on Biometrics & Mobile Money at Opportunity Malawi

The Christian Science Monitor today posted an article entitled, “Villages Leapfrog the Grid with Biometrics and Mobile Money,” which lauds these technologies as a way for people at the bottom of the economic pyramid to access financial services and protect themselves in the case of drought and disasters. Today’s story is part of a series Read more…

Posted in Rural Outreach, Technology, What We're Reading, Where We Work
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New Microinsurance Product Helps Protect Mozambican Families

Launched on Jan. 3, 2011, Opportunity Mozambique now offers its clients the protection of a credit life insurance policy that includes funeral coverage. This policy, developed with the help of Opportunity International’s microinsurance subsidiary MicroEnsure, helps families maintain the progress they have achieved even when faced with life’s tragedies. This enhanced policy is being offered Read more…

Posted in Microinsurance, Where We Work
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LiveBlog: Stability in Times of Crisis with Microinsurance

At this breakout session, called “Stability in Times of Crisis: MicroEnsure,” we learned how Opportunity’s MicroEnsure, the world’s first microinsurance[/intlink] intermediary, provides protection against the many risks faced by those living in poverty. Our insurance products cover more than one million policyholders with crop, loan, health, life and property insurance—offering clients a safety net when Read more…

Posted in Events, Microfinance Conference, Microinsurance, Our Work, Strategic Partners
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