Publication database

The idea of Inclusive Business is taking Africa by storm. The timely publication of a new concise book 'Inclusive business in Africa': A business model aims to take readers on a journey into the subject of Inclusive Business in Africa and shows how companies can be agents of change, contributing to inclusive development and growth. The publication brings together research supported by the Partnerships Resource Centre (PrC), a specialist research centre at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) and RSM’s Professor Rob van Tulder. 

This publication documents the success stories of the ASEAN Inclusive Business Awards finalists and nominees from various sectors across the region. It aims to inspire companies to embrace change and innovation in their corporate culture. The case studies presented can serve as a guide for other emerging inclusive businesses.

Bundling agriculture insurance with other services like credit and better farm inputs is fast emerging as a possible solution to help agriculture insurance to achieve better social outcomes, make insurance more tangible and enable schemes to scale faster. There is evidence that states that access to agricultural insurance leads to significantly larger agricultural investment and riskier, yet more rewarding, production choices in agriculture. However, insurance as a standalone product may not be sufficient to overcome the binding constraints of farmers. Hence, bundling provides more value for all the players in the value chain. 

This paper examines the successes, challenges and modalities of the provision of financial services by trade unions. It is structured in two parts. The first examines the existing literature on the financial service experiences of unions through various institutional arrangements. The second part is a broad view of union-led financial service provision based on a survey of 166 unions representing 441.6 million workers worldwide, along with eight case studies that serve to illustrate the contextual factors influencing financial service provision by trade unions. The findings demonstrate that trade unions offer a range of financial services including loans, savings, insurance and retirement schemes through diverse modes of implementation. Mutuals and cooperative structures are popular models for union-led financial service provision. Others have sought for more knowledge and capital-intensive institutional models, such as setting up brokerage agencies or establishing banks.

With 1.5 billion people worldwide getting access to financial services through a post office, postal networks are powerful tools to advance financial inclusion. Posts possess or can develop characteristics such as client understanding, product diversification, national outreach, rural advantage, and trust with clients that have the potential to transform postal networks into well-suited providers of insurance. Insurance is a relatively easy way for posts to diversify their sources of revenue.

This study by the Universal Postal Union (UPU) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) delves into the transformative potential of postal networks into well-suited providers of insurance. The report concludes by presenting three types of business models in which postal insurance can help advancing financial inclusion through insurance access.

The microinsurance sector has grown to 500 million in 2012 due to the successes of many schemes. However, for every scheme that has succeeded, many more have struggled to reach scale, become viable or provide client value, and some have failed altogether. Research paper #42, titled “Learning from others’ mistakes” identifies the most common challenges that are likely to cause a scheme to fail using the experience of 12 cases.

The microinsurance sector has grown from 78 million policies in 2007 to 500 million in 2012 and the exponential growth is expected to continue, since the potential market is estimated at 3–4 billion policies. However, for every scheme that has succeeded, many more have struggled to reach scale, become viable or provide client value, and some have failed altogether. Many innovations have resulted from efforts to convert these near-misses to successes. Briefing note 36 draws on the experience of 12 such attempts to identify the most common challenges that caused severe problems. The challenges are organized in five clusters: Viability, Client Value, Operations, Partnerships and External.

“Can health microinsurance (HMI) schemes achieve sustainability?” As with many seemingly simple questions, there is no simple answer. The answer to this question is of interest to a variety of parties. Insurance providers seek to understand if there is a viable business case for offering an HMI product. Health-care providers and pharmaceutical companies are interested in whether or not HMI can be a means for broadening coverage. Donors and other funding organizations want to know if HMI is a viable investment as a means to improve health-care access, health outcomes and financial protection for the low-income population. Governments consider how to use HMI schemes as a step towards universal health coverage.

This paper seeks to answer this simple yet crucial question based on the experiences of five schemes in South Asia.

Across the world, insurers have shifted away from traditional agents and brokers to partner with various alternative distribution channels – ranging from churches, trade unions and mobile network operators to banks, retailers and even civil service organizations - as a way of reaching critical mass at low cost. This brief examines two of these channels – banking and retail correspondents – studying four examples in four countries.