The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Activa International Insurance Ghana (AIIG) have launched an insurance program expected to benefit two million Ghanaian women by 2022. 

Under the Activ’Lady Program, the IFC and AIIG will raise awareness among women about the importance of insurance in mitigating risk for their businesses and boosting coverage to protect against unexpected events.

The program will also provide access to tools such as training courses to help women expand their operations and boost business performance. 

The program is expected to have a ripple effect, benefiting not only women in the country but also the local communities and increasing the insurance penetration in the country which currently stands at less than 2 per cent.

Launching the program, Senior Program Officer – Women’s Insurance Lead at IFC said, “We know Ghanaian women are entrepreneurial, however, many of them do not have the insurance coverage they need to protect and expand their businesses, Global Women’s Insurance program lead of IFC’s Gender Business Group.” 

She added, “This partnership helps us create a platform that will make Ghanaian women entrepreneurs more resilient to personal and business shocks and provide security and some handholding as they grow through the entrepreneurship journey.”

Managing Director of AIIG also said, “Our insurance program follows an IFC-led study “Sheforsheild” that found the insurance industry can earn up to $1.7 trillion globally by 2030 if they focus on women alone with 50 per cent of this opportunity coming from emerging markets. As a leading provider of nonlife insurance in Ghana, AIIG realizes that women are the lifeline of the Ghanaian economy.”

The Insurance initiative in Ghana is partly funded by the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) which invests in programs and projects that help unlock financing to address barriers facing women entrepreneurs.