Insuring Women for a Better Future
ACTIVA Cameroon is one of Cameroon’s leading insurers: 2nd in the Non-Life Branch and 3rd in the Life Branch. In November 2019 it launched the Activ’Lady insurance program tailored towards Cameroonian women, a first for Cameroon, where almost the entire population is uninsured. Activ’Lady was co-created in partnership with IFC, and developed in line with the main recommendations of the SHEforSHIELD report, with the objective of “protecting women to protect society better.”
Activa launched this women’s insurance strategy in Cameroon following the success of similar programs in some other markets–Nigeria and Philippines, where insurers had worked with IFC to increase women’s access to insurance. Activa Cameroon seeks to increase the access of women and female entrepreneurs to improved risk mitigation and financial protection mechanisms in all its lines of business: life and non-life. With advisory support from IFC, Activa responded to this critical new market segment by conducting research to understand the needs of women, and design insurance solutions specifically for them.
IFC anticipates that by 2026, the insurance market for women in Cameroon will be worth nearly CFA 80 billion ($132 million) and the non-life insurance will be worth CFA 53 billion ($87 million). This an untapped opportunity for the insurance industry in a segment that is still underserved.
