What we read at MIC this week

Links to some interesting reads

Child, Early, and Forced Marriage Resource Guide

·      This guide is meant to be a resource and tool for development practitioners. The document begins with a practical ‘Top 12 Ways to Use…’ the manual which is helpful and efficient, with links. Finance is discussed throughout the document in terms of prevention such as financial literacy/education for young women and also in terms of implications that early marriage can have on girls’ and women’s financial lifestyles (i.e. control over household finances, access to an individual bank account, etc…).   

Financial Inclusion: Creating and inclusive world

·         This annual report touches on strides made in the financial inclusion movement, including the release of information provided by the Global Findex, and discusses plans to continue forward.  

Who saves the least money? Financial exclusion around the world – interactive

·         Check out this interactive world map to learn about financial inclusion in terms of borrowing, savings, spending, accounts, and others.  

An Introduction to System Mapping

·         Ideas for tackling tough societal problems using system mapping to better understand the various parts of a system and how they influence each other. The post includes links to types of system maps and other examples of how they can be used to creatively think about solving a problem. 

Happy #WorldToiletDay! Here’s What It’s Like to Live Without One

·         A post on NPR’s Goats and Soda blog for World Toilet Day which was November 19.  

What we read at MIC this week

Links to interesting reads:

Responsible Mobile Insurance

·         Touches on an important discussion revolving around mobile microinsurance. “The potential for mass distribution is signifi­cant but brings new risks as new players enter the mar­ket, which challenges existing regulatory principles and practices.” This article talks about mobile insurance in the context of the 3 pillars of Responsible Finance: 1) Consumer Protection Regulation, 2) Financial Institutions’ Self-regulation, and 3) Financial Capability.

East Africa on alert for El Niño deluge

·        Early-warning systems are an important piece of the risk management system. Kenya is preparing for heavier than usual rainfalls and seem to have considered various potential impacts and taken measures to prevent livestock.

Health Spending: the pause before fast-forward

·     On the evolution of health spending and its link to the economic slowdown. The rise in health spending will occur because “the underlying forces pushing up medical costs remain in place”. 

The Landscape of Microinsurance in Africa 2015 – Preliminary Briefing Note

·         This briefing note reports on some of the key insights and trends found during the regional microinsurance landscape study of Africa. The results show a comparable growth of 30% in lives covered by microinsurance since 2011. The briefing note also reports interesting results on distribution and premiums and claims.  

Regulating for Inclusive Insurance Markets in SADC: Review of regulation

·         An overview and analysis of the current state of microinsurance/inclusive insurance regulation in Southern African Development Community. It was found that more than 95% of the entire insurance market in SADC can be classified as the MI target market. So far only two countries in SADC have enacted MI-specific regulation.