Forte is the only agriculture insurer in Cambodia and the clear market leader in the segment. At the beginning of 2021, Forte launched a pilot in Weather Index Crop Insurance (WICI) with the Cambodian Ministry of Economy and Finance and Asian Development Bank with the aim to reach over 1.8 million farmers by 2026. Cambodia has been heavily impacted by climate events over the last 20 years. 10 million poor and vulnerable people in Cambodia are dependent on agriculture, a sector which accounts for approx. one third of the country’s GDP.
“Agriculture insurance is an effective risk mitigation tool to protect small scale farmers from severe losses caused by natural disasters. We are excited to partner with the market leader to drive the penetration of agriculture insurance products in Cambodia and enhance the adaptation of people with low and middle income to climate change,” said Thibaud Ponchon, Investment Director Asia at BlueOrchard.
IIF will appoint a nominee to Forte’s Board of Directors. The proceeds of the investment will be used to further support the expansion of Forte’s agriculture insurance offering in the Mekong area, hereby extending the firm’s outreach to farmers with low income as well as its insurtech initiatives and to increase the firm’s risk capital.
“We look forward to working with BlueOrchard’s team and leverage their experience in the global insurance sector to develop the regional market together. Forte is dedicated to becoming the pioneer in Cambodia’s agriculture insurance and achieve a larger outreach while building confidence in our clients and international partners. Over the years we have been following the successful investments of BlueOrchard managed funds in the microfinance sector in the region. We are confident that the partnership with BlueOrchard and IIF is ideal for a successful journey and that together we can extend such success into the insurance sector for the rural population in Southeast Asia,” says Charles Cheo, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of Forte.
The investment in Forte aligns with the vision and principles of IIF and the InsuResilience Global Partnership (“the Partnership”), which was launched at the 2017 UN Climate Conference COP23 by Germany. The vision of the Partnership is to strengthen the resilience of developing countries to the effects of climate change and to protect the livelihoods of poor and vulnerable people against extreme weather events and natural disasters. The Partnership’s objective is to enable more timely and reliable post-disaster response and offer insurance solutions to reduce impacts and help poor and vulnerable people recover more quickly.
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About InsuResilience Investment Fund
Luxembourg based InsuResilience Investment Fund has been set up by KfW, the German Development Bank, on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The overall objective of the InsuResilience Investment Fund is to contribute to the adaptation to climate change by improving access to and the use of insurance in developing countries. The specific objective of the fund is to reduce the vulnerability of low-income households and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) to extreme weather events. The InsuResilience Investment Fund has been set up as a public-private-partnership and combines private debt and equity investments in two separately investible sub-funds as well as technical assistance and premium support. The fund aims at both financial return and social impact. For further information, please visit: www.insuresilienceinvestment.fund
About Forte
Established in 1999, Forte is a regional insurance group with general and life insurance subsidiaries in Cambodia, licensed by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (“MoEF”) and a general insurance subsidiary in Laos licensed by the Ministry of Finance (“MoF”). Forte offers a full range of life and general insurance products including Property and Engineering, Personal Accident, Motor, Health, Agriculture. For further information, please visit: www.forteinsurance.com
About BlueOrchard Finance Ltd
BlueOrchard is a leading global impact investment manager and member of the Schroders Group. As a pioneering impact investor, the firm is dedicated to generating lasting positive impact for communities and the environment, while aiming at providing attractive returns to investors. BlueOrchard was founded in 2001, by initiative of the UN, as the first commercial manager of microfinance debt investments worldwide. Today, the firm offers impact investment solutions across asset classes, connecting millions of entrepreneurs in emerging and frontier markets with investors with the aim to make impact investment solutions accessible to all and to advance the conscious use of capital. Being a professional investment manager and expert in innovative blended finance mandates, BlueOrchard has a sophisticated international investor base and is a trusted partner of leading global development finance institutions. To date, BlueOrchard has invested over USD 9bn across more than 90 countries. Around 230 million poor and vulnerable people in emerging and frontier markets received access to financial and related services with the support of BlueOrchard as of December 2021. For additional information, please visit: www.blueorchard.com.
For further information, please contact:
Tahmina Theis
+41 22 596 47 69
tahmina.theis@blueorchard.com
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