• Lomé hosts conference on expanding insurance access for low-income groups

• Stakeholders discuss microinsurance solutions for informal and rural populations

• Inclusive insurance seen boosting resilience, financial inclusion, economic activity 

Officials, insurers and technology experts from across Africa gathered in Lomé on Wednesday for the 11th Regional Conference on Inclusive Insurance, with a focus on expanding coverage for low-income households and informal sector workers.

The conference, which runs through Friday, aims to identify practical solutions to develop products suited to populations often excluded from conventional social protection systems.

For insurers, the event offers an opportunity to build more resilient systems better adapted to African conditions, amid health crises, persistent insecurity and recurring economic shocks. The objective is to make insurance both accessible and affordable, particularly for people in rural areas and vulnerable communities.

Participants also examined how inclusive insurance can support economic activity, especially in the informal and agricultural sectors, by strengthening resilience to risk.

Inclusive insurance is seen as a tool to reduce household vulnerability to external shocks while supporting financial inclusion, notably by enabling access to services such as savings and credit through widely used mobile money platforms.

Following the Lomé conference, insurers are expected to roll out new microinsurance products targeting low-income households, positioning these offerings as a key lever for both social protection and economic development.

The Lomé meeting is emerging as a platform to accelerate efforts to extend insurance coverage across all segments of the population. Togo has already taken steps in this direction, particularly in the health sector, with the rollout of its Universal Health Insurance programme (AMU) since January 2024.

Esaïe Edoh, with TogoFirst