Inaugural CDRFI Africa Forum Opened In Nairobi On The Sidelines Of The 8th EAISA Regulators And ZEP-RE Strategic Forum
21 countries convene to advance insurability and close Africa’s protection gap
Africa insures only 3–5 per cent of disaster losses, compared with about 40 per cent globally, leaving governments to absorb more than 90 per cent of losses estimated at USD 7–15 billion, participants at the inaugural CDRFI Africa Forum heard in Nairobi.
The two-day Forum, held under the theme “Increasing Insurability to Close the Protection Gap in Africa,” brings together senior government officials, insurance regulators, development partners and industry representatives from 21 countries to strengthen financial preparedness for climate and disaster risks, with a particular focus on financing resilient strategic and critical infrastructure.
The Forum opened with a call for countries to identify assets exposed to disaster risks, strengthen risk information and put financing arrangements in place before shocks occur. Counterparts from Jamaica and the Philippines were invited to share their national experiences in disaster risk financing and insurance.
The CDRFI Africa Forum is a ZEP-RE initiative, convened for the first time this year with the East Africa Insurance Supervisors Association (EAISA) and hosted by the Government of Kenya through the National Treasury. It builds on the EAISA and ZEP-RE Strategic Forum, which has been convened annually for eight years, and brings Ministries of Finance into the dialogue following the 2025 Zanzibar Declaration adopted by EAISA.
Under the Declaration, insurance regulators from 12 countries pledged to support programmes to protect critical public infrastructure. The Forum called for these commitments to move from declaration to implementation through a sustained, government-led Community of Practice.
Representing the Guest of Honour, Hon. Felix K. Koskei, Chief of Staff and Head of the Public Service was Dr. Boniface Makokha, Principal Secretary for Economic Planning in Kenya’s National Treasury, who emphasised the importance of identifying assets exposed to disaster risks and determining in advance how their recovery would be financed. “The question is no longer whether disasters will occur, but whether our countries are financially prepared when they do,” he said.
ZEP-RE Managing Director and Group CEO Hope Murera called for a shift from emergency expenditure towards proactive financial preparedness.
“Disasters should not become fiscal crises,” Murera said. “Resilience is not a cost. It is an investment in growth and stability.”
Commissioner of Insurance and CEO of the Insurance Regulatory Authority of Kenya Mr. Godfrey Kiptum described closing the protection gap as a development priority. He called for regulation that protects policyholders while enabling innovation, citing the impending El Niño event as a reminder of the need to act before shocks occur.
EAISA Interim Chairperson Dr. Protazio Sande, Acting CEO of Uganda’s Insurance Regulatory Authority, linked insurability to investment. “If it is not insurable, perhaps it is not investable,” he said.
The Secretary General of the Insurance Development Forum Ekhosuehi Iyahen, said the challenge is one of insurability, not insurance alone.
“Prediction has improved faster than protection,” Ms. Iyahen said. “A protection gap is rarely just an insurance gap. It is almost always a development gap.”
She also highlighted Shock-Resilient Loans, an emerging area of work exploring whether sovereign lending can be designed so that risk transfer mechanisms provide governments with automatic fiscal breathing space following a major shock.
Emiko Todoroki of the World Bank Group’s disaster risk finance practice called for financing strategies that are matched to each country’s risk profile.
Governments could combine budget reserves, contingent financing, insurance and investment in risk reduction to address different levels of risk and strengthen financial preparedness before disasters occur.
From Emergency Response to Pre-Arranged Finance
The first panel, “From Policy to Practice: Sovereign Risk Finance in Africa and Southeast Asia,” moderated by James Sinah of the World Bank Group, examined the financial instruments governments currently use and which risks may be better transferred to the private sector than retained on government balance sheets.
Panellists included Ronald Inyangala, Director of the Financial and Sectoral Department at Kenya’s National Treasury; Herbert Asiimwe, Head of Financial Sector Development at Rwanda’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning; Likezo Musabani, Acting Director of Zambia’s Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit; Sharon Almanza, National Treasurer of the Philippines; and Hope Murera of ZEP-RE.
In closing the session, Sinah identified three priorities: protecting public assets as a feasible and immediate development priority rather than a long-term ambition; recognising that no single financial instrument can address every risk, making risk layering essential; and strengthening government leadership alongside regulatory support. He also emphasised the importance of identifying and prioritising assets and, where possible, pooling risks regionally to create scale.
Closing the Gap Through Insurance, Data and Innovation
The second panel was moderated by Linet Odera, ZEP-RE Group Chief, Public Sector and Inclusive Solutions, and featured Ekhosuehi Iyahen of the Insurance Development Forum; Evie Calcutt and Ommid Saberi of the World Bank Group; and Denis Mugagga of Uganda’s Ministry of
Finance, Planning and Economic Development. The panel examined why protection gaps persist despite growing disaster losses and what is needed to increase insurability across African markets. Participants identified thematic risk pools as a potential avenue for countries participating in the Zanzibar Declaration on the Financial Protection of Critical Public Infrastructure to address uninsurability and limited underwriting capacity arising from the systemic nature of climate and disaster risks and the relatively small market size in Africa.
In closing, Ms. Odera highlighted three priorities for narrowing the protection gap: reliable data, stronger analytics and modelling capabilities, and innovation to advance insurance markets. Better risk information, she noted, can strengthen resilience planning, support product development and contribute to market development.
ZEP-RE also unveiled its third annual Sustainability Report, Building Resilience Across Africa, during the opening session. The report is available on ZEP-RE’s website.