WBCSD-SNV Alliance: Creating inclusive business opportunities by linking local communities with big business

"Learning to insure the poor": new microinsurance report published by Allianz

Aiming to share its experience in how to design, deliver and scale sustainable microinsurance products and to help set the right course for next steps, Allianz has published a new microinsurance report, titled Learning to insure the poor (pdf, 40 pages).

The new report is based on research, conducted in collaboration with the Emergia Institute, to consolidate the wealth of insights Allianz has gained in the first years of developing its microinsurance business. Key facts on the state of microinsurance today, case studies on existing Allianz microinsurance projects and perspectives from experts on the future of microinsurance round out the report.

Business innovation to fight climate change and poverty

Are there successful business innovations for the global South that help mitigate climate change and its impact on the poor? What types of innovative models are emerging? How can these be brought to scale? What is the role of governments and donors to encourage investment and innovation for the poor?

Negocios Inclusivos en Chile: un reto a la creatividad

El pasado 4 de junio, Acción RSE, el capítulo chileno del Consejo Mundial Empresarial para el Desarrollo Sustentable (WBCSD), organizó una charla temática sobre negocios inclusivos, convocando a más de un centenar de personas que se dieron cita para conocer las experiencias de BancoEstado Microempresas, Masisa y VTR en la gestión y desarrollo de este modelo de negocios.

Según Rafael Quiroga, Gerente General de Acción RSE, “los negocios inclusivos se están constituyendo en una contribución efectiva, creativa y novedosa de las empresas para superar la exclusión y la pobreza, transformándose poco a poco en ingresos relevantes para las compañías que tienen emprendimientos en esta área. Un efecto adicional es que las compañías se transforman en verdaderos impulsores del desarrollo social de los países donde operan, demostrando que el rol empresarial va mucho más allá de generar valor económico.”

Telefonía móvil y acceso a servicios financieros: el trabajo de Telefónica

Los Servicios Financieros Móviles (SFM) han reducido la pobreza en América Latina según un estudio publicado por Telefónica, una de las mayores compañías de telecomunicaciones del mundo. Intitulado Telefonía móvil y desarrollo financiero en América Latina (resumen ejecutivo, pdf, 15 páginas), el estudio analiza el potencial de la telefonía móvil para extender el acceso a los servicios financieros en la región.

La inclusión financiera tiene un efecto positivo sobre la desigualdad, la pobreza y el crecimiento económico. En particular, se estima que un incremento del 10% en el acceso a servicios financieros repercute en 0,6 puntos de reducción del coeficiente de desigualdad y un incremento del 10% en el crédito privado reduce la pobreza en cerca del 3%.

Reducing the risks of the poor through microinsurance: Allianz

Microinsurance in emerging economies represents a market of great potential growth and profitability. As insurance markets in many rich countries become saturated and growth prospects limited, insurance companies are looking to new opportunities in emerging markets. In India alone, more than 250 million people are in need of microinsurance. And worldwide, the Allianz Group (Allianz), a leading global provider of insurance, banking and asset management, predicts that by 2011 the microinsurance market will double the size it was in 2008.

The Allianz Group's work on microinsurance began in early 2005, as the Management Board of Allianz in Munich , Germany, realized that the South-East Asian Tsunami of December 2004 did not leave much of an impact on the balance sheet of the company, despite being one of the worst natural catastrophes in the last 100 years. As Heinz Dollberg, head of the Asia-Pacific division of Allianz, explains, "the risks faced by the poor are much the same as those for most individuals, but research has shown that they experience those risks with greater frequency and with a relatively greater financial impact."

Is it fair to do business with the poor?

What is the role of commercialization, commercial capital and commercial investors in delivering microfinance to poor people? Is it ethical to make money out of the poor? These were the central questions of a debate organized by the World Microfinance Forum Geneva between Muhammad Yunus, Founder of Grameen Bank, and Michael Chu, one of the visionaries behind Compartamos Banco.

The context for this debate is nicely summarized in an article in The Economist of 26 June 2008 titled Doing good by doing very nicely indeed. The article explains how “for years Muhammad Yunus reigned as the public face of microfinance. It seemed only right when, in 2006, the Bangladeshi economist cum social entrepreneur and his Grameen Bank shared the Nobel peace prize for a micro-lending revolution that has helped millions to earn their own way out of poverty. Yet for the past year or so, microfinance has had another public face, one that troubles people like Mr Yunus. Compartamos Banco argues that the best way for microfinance to help the poor is for it to make a socking great profit.”