Launch of the Capacity Building Program

In this interview, the Secretary General of the African Insurance Organisation (AIO) reflects on the launch of the GIIF capacity-building program and its role in strengthening agricultural and climate insurance across Africa. He shares insights on key challenges, early results from the first cohort, and the path toward scaling impactful, inclusive insurance solutions.

GIIF: Congratulations on the launch of the “Capacity Building and Development for Agricultural and Climate Insurance” training series. To begin, could you share what inspired this collaboration and what we hope to achieve through it?

Jean Baptiste Ntukamazina:
Agriculture remains the backbone of African economies, employing a significant portion of our population. Agriculture contributes to sustaining livelihoods and anchoring food security.

Yet it is also one of the sectors most exposed to climate shocks, weather volatility, and systemic risk. As climate change accelerates, the question before us is no longer whether Africa needs agricultural and climate insurance, but how quickly and how effectively we can design, scale, and deliver it.

Without effective risk transfer mechanisms, these shocks undermine food security, financial stability, and economic growth.

Key Objectives of the Program

• Increase awareness and technical expertise in the design, pricing, distribution, and management of agricultural and climate insurance products across Africa
• Establish an annual, bilingual certification program that bridges professional training and academic research in climate insurance
• Empower insurance professionals, regulators, and financial institutions to deliver affordable and accessible micro-insurance solutions tailored to climate-vulnerable populations
• Support financial inclusion and resilience-building through practical, data-driven training modules

By enhancing knowledge in product design, distribution, regulatory frameworks, and claims management, this initiative aims to promote financial inclusion and increase access to affordable insurance for Africa’s low- and middle-income populations.

Turning Capacity Building into Outcomes

GIIF: From your perspective, what are some of the key challenges in ensuring that capacity-building events translate into real impact? What can be done to make these initiatives more sustainable and capable of generating scalable, actionable outcomes?

Jean Baptiste Ntukamazina:
Ensuring that capacity-building events, especially in agriculture and climate insurance, translate into real impact involves overcoming significant structural, technical, and behavioral barriers. There are huge challenges in bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge gained in training and the practical, often costly, implementation of insurance products in rural, climate-vulnerable communities.

Key Challenges Identified

• Lack of regulatory frameworks for index-based insurance products and alternative distribution channels
• Limited government and private sector commitment, and weak coordination among stakeholders
• Acute lack of reliable data to support decision-making and product design
• Low trust and limited insurance awareness among farmers, affecting adoption of climate insurance products

What Can Be Done to Strengthen Sustainability

• Nationwide sensitization on new solutions for agricultural and weather-related risks
• Stronger government involvement in policy and strategy, including financial support to farmers
• Expanded public-private partnerships to fund infrastructure such as weather stations
• Increased use of digital technologies for faster and more transparent claims processing

They must be equipped with the technical knowledge required to design and scale innovative agricultural and climate insurance solutions. This is one of the best ways we can ensure market development, professional excellence, and continental collaboration.

GIIF: Looking at this first cohort, what has stood out to you the most so far? And what will be the immediate next steps for the second cohort?

Jean Baptiste Ntukamazina:
Globally speaking, it’s been very impressive. The first cohort (both EN and FR participants) revealed an exceptional drive among participants to combine professional skill development with societal leadership.

The level of enthusiasm was quite high, and it goes without saying there was a skills gap that needed to be filled. This is the impression we got from the first cohort. It was a huge satisfaction.

To maintain momentum and avoid losing this enthusiasm, the next phase must follow as soon as possible. The AIO community has received echoes of the success of Phase 1, and we envisage greater interest in the second phase of the program, incorporating participants’ feedback and our own experience.

Applying Training in Practice

GIIF: Considering GIIF’s role in advancing inclusive agricultural insurance, how do you see the knowledge from these trainings being applied in practice going forward?

Jean Baptiste Ntukamazina:
Agriculture is under serious threat from climate shocks, weather volatility, and systemic risk. There is a need for urgent action to save the livelihoods of millions of Africans.

The need for a risk transfer mechanism is more urgent than ever, not only for populations but also for governments and insurers.

Our primary goal is to build a robust community of professionals in Africa capable of designing and implementing technical agricultural and climate insurance products, specifically focusing on crop climate insurance and index-based methods.

I think the cohorts will be operational with immediate effect. However, this will depend on the commitment and engagement of the countries and companies where trainees come from.

Final Reflections

GIIF: As we conclude, are there any promising initiatives already underway on the AIO side, or areas where additional effort and collaboration could further strengthen the impact of this sector?

Jean Baptiste Ntukamazina:
We would like to appreciate this partnership with GIIF, which to us represents a strategic and ongoing collaboration.

As this program is part of a broader roadmap to institutionalize agricultural and climate insurance capacity across African markets, the AIO envisions two concrete actions:

• The inception of an agricultural insurance certification program (a harmonized curriculum for Africa; it is one of our projects)
• Advocating for harmonized insurance regulation, including agriculture and climate-related risks

This conversation reflects a growing momentum across Africa to strengthen insurance systems, close capacity gaps, and build resilience against climate risks through collaboration between institutions such as the AIO, and the WBG.