Seen in an International Labor Organization press release:
The US $34 million Gates Foundation grant will help create the Microinsurance Innovation Facility, a one-of-a-kind, five-year initiative that will provide grants and technical assistance to dozens of organizations serving the poor. Over the course of the next three years, the facility will issue bi-annual requests for proposals and provide funding to pilot new insurance products, improve efficiency in the field, and use technology to create new products that better meet people’s needs. The facility will also train technical specialists to help replicate successful models.[...]
More specifically, the new Microinsurance Innovation Facility will provide grants and technical assistance to support the development of valuable insurance products for low-income and rural households; encourage the emergence of institutional models and partnerships that effectively deliver insurance to large volumes of low-income women and men; and promote market education to help low-income consumers appreciate the utility of insurance and identify high value products.
Now that is a cool idea.
