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This briefing describes a collaboration between CGAP and FSD Africa to develop a conceptual framework and research methodology exploring the link between financial inclusion and climate resilience. The project focuses on how financial services can help vulnerable populations adapt to climate risks, with initial testing and research conducted in Nigeria.

The BimaLab Neo Insurers Training Initiative (NITI), supported by IFC and implemented by Tellistic Technology Services between 2021 and 2022, aims to transform traditional insurance companies in Nigeria into digital insurers. The program focuses on establishing innovation hubs and digital sandboxes to test new solutions, specifically targeting the agriculture and health insurance sub-sectors.

BimaLab West Africa is an FSD Africa-supported platform hosted by insurance regulators to create an Insurtech ecosystem in Nigeria and Ghana. The program aims to increase insurance access for underserved populations, support innovators through mentorship and regulatory guidance, and modernize insurance policies. In 2021-2022, the program accelerated 20 insurtechs, with three winners receiving 51,000 pounds from GIZ.

The Digital Financial Innovation Platform is an FSD Africa intervention running from 2022 to 2025, designed to increase the availability of affordable insurance products in Sub-Saharan Africa by developing insurtech ecosystems via an online 'one-stop innovation shop'.

The Geothermal Risk Transfer Facility is a programme funded by the FCDO (2021-2025) designed to catalyse private investment in African green energy by leveraging local insurance capital to de-risk early-stage geothermal development drilling.

FSD Africa is supporting the Lagos State Government (LASG) from 2022 to 2024 to improve flood resilience by integrating market-based financial instruments into risk management and infrastructure investment.

FSD Africa is providing technical assistance to the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) in Nigeria to enhance its regulatory and supervisory capabilities, specifically through the development of a risk-based capital framework and the promotion of insurance market innovation.

The Pharm Access Project, funded by FCDO and implemented by FSD Africa and PharmAccess, aims to improve data quality and usage at Ghana's National Health Insurance Agency (NHIA) to enhance health outcomes, membership, and cost efficiency.

This report describes a project to integrate an African perspective into the Taskforce on Nature Related Disclosures (TNFD). The initiative focuses on quantifying the economic impact of nature—noting that 23% of Africa's GDP depends on it—and piloting frameworks to help African financial institutions manage nature-related physical and transition risks.

The Risk, Resilience and Regulatory Lab (R3LAB) is a platform designed to enhance the capacity of insurance regulators and supervisors across Africa through collaboration, knowledge exchange, and the development of customized capacity-building programs.

This scoping report by FSD Africa evaluates the feasibility of developing a green bond market within the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). It identifies significant barriers, including underdeveloped regional financial markets, a lack of government-led climate initiatives, and limited stakeholder familiarity with international green bond standards. The report provides recommendations for capacity building, regulatory harmonization, and the identification of bankable green projects to attract both public and private investment for climate mitigation and adaptation.

The WAEMU Green Bond Scoping Report, published by FSD Africa in September 2022, evaluates the feasibility of developing a Green Bond market within the West African Economic and Monetary Union. The report identifies significant potential for sovereign and corporate issuance, particularly in energy, agriculture, and transportation, but highlights critical barriers including underdeveloped regional financial markets, a lack of government focus on climate-resilient regulatory frameworks, and limited technical capacity among stakeholders to meet international green standards. It recommends targeted capacity building, the development of harmonized regional guidelines, and the use of technical assistance and risk-transfer instruments to attract investors and build a pipeline of bankable green projects.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), commissioned by FSD Africa, provides a comprehensive baseline of climate finance flows in Africa for 2019 and 2020. It highlights a massive financing gap, noting that annual flows of USD 29.5 billion meet only about 11% of the USD 277 billion needed annually to implement Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) by 2030. The analysis details the sources, instruments, and sectoral allocations of these funds, emphasizing the dominance of international public finance and the need for increased private sector engagement and better data tracking.

This briefing paper by FSD Africa examines the necessity and mechanisms for mobilising private finance to preserve and restore natural capital across Africa. It identifies a significant annual financing gap of over $100 billion and proposes a 'triple bottom line' investment approach focusing on landscape financing, restorative agriculture, and sustainable supply chains. The document outlines the roles of various stakeholders, including central banks, international development partners, and impact investors, in creating a 'natural capital aligned' investor base through green bonds, carbon credits, and specialist funds.

This report by FSD Africa analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine on debt sustainability and financial market development in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa. It highlights a high risk of external debt distress for several of these nations and examines the trade-offs between short-term counter-cyclical fiscal measures and long-term financial market stability.

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The Capital Markets Impact Report by FSD Africa details the organization's efforts to develop African capital markets to address financing gaps in infrastructure, housing, and climate resilience. The report outlines FSD Africa's strategic shift toward five priority countries—Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, and Nigeria—while maintaining a regional footprint. It highlights the use of technical assistance, grants, and direct investments to foster green and gender bonds, improve regulatory frameworks, and enhance market infrastructure to reduce dependency on bank-dominated financial sectors.

This report, commissioned by FSD Africa and conducted by Strategic Impact Advisors (SIA), examines the challenges and opportunities for implementing digital financial services (DFS) for humanitarian cash transfers in Sudan. It analyzes both the supply side (financial institutions, MNOs, and fintechs) and the demand side (beneficiaries in White Nile and West Darfur), providing recommendations to improve digital readiness and infrastructure to support displaced populations.

The 'Toolkit for Securities Regulators in Africa Institutional Capacity Assessment (ICA)' is a guide designed to help capital market regulators in emerging markets systematically identify and address institutional gaps. It introduces the DAART framework (Define, Align, Assemble, Respect, Tailor) to ensure that capacity assessments and subsequent strengthening programmes are pragmatic, sensitive to market signals, and aligned with the specific stage of a country's market development.

This report provides an update on the insurance innovation landscape in Uganda as of July 2022. It assesses the progress of the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) in implementing a 2019 action plan, identifies persistent barriers to insurance penetration, and proposes a refreshed set of recommendations to foster a more enabling environment for digital insurance and insurtech.