With Microfinance becoming the cornerstone of inclusive growth, Sanjeev Bhandari, Chief Business Officer, Ensuredit Technologies, discusses what makes Microfinance powerful and how people are using it worldwide and inclusively.
A quiet revolution is underway and it’s transforming the very architecture of financial security for billions. From the villages of Uttar Pradesh to the coastlines of Mozambique, a new kind of financial safety net is taking shape, one that doesn’t require wealth, just a mobile phone and trust.
Microfinance insurance is no longer a niche concept. It is becoming the cornerstone of inclusive growth, with a global market expected to reach US$96 billion by 2029, up from US$70 billion in 2024. But more than the numbers, it’s the impact, real, rapid and rising that makes this revolution so exciting.
Smart tech, simple access
Once time-consuming and paperwork-heavy, insurance is now becoming intuitive, invisible and instant. Thanks to mobile-first platforms, AI-powered underwriting, satellite data and Blockchain, insurance is reaching low-income workers, farmers, gig drivers and micro-entrepreneurs, often with affordable premiums.
In Kenya, health insurance is bundled with mobile wallets. In India, bite-sized accident and hospital plans are being delivered via WhatsApp. In Latin America, parametric crop insurance is protecting smallholder farmers against drought, with payouts triggered automatically when weather thresholds are breached.
This isn’t innovation for the few. It’s smart inclusion for the many.
Resilience, not just returns
What makes microinsurance powerful isn’t just the affordability, it’s the purpose.
Every policy provides protection against the unthinkable, a child dropping out of school due to a parent’s illness, a family pushed into poverty after a storm, a small shop forced to close after a fire. Microinsurance transforms these stories, turning vulnerability into resilience.
Global reinsurers, ESG funds and DFIs are channelling capital into microinsurance platforms, Insurtech’s and distribution networks for a new kind of ROI: Return on Inclusion.
Climate-ready protection
As climate volatility grows, microinsurance is emerging as a frontline defence.
Parametric insurance, which pays out based on real-time environmental data is being scaled across Bangladesh, the Philippines and Africa to protect low-income communities from floods, droughts and cyclones.
It’s fast. It’s fair. It’s future-proof.
A policy shift that matters
Governments are catching up. India is leading with regulatory sandboxes, Brazil and Indonesia are embedding insurance in national financial inclusion strategies. African nations are subsidising premiums to protect farmers and small businesses.
Meanwhile, global bodies like the World Bank and ILO are creating the digital rails, from e-KYC to interoperable claims systems, to scale inclusive insurance globally.
People first. Always.
At the heart of this movement is a simple, powerful idea: protection is a right, not a privilege.
It’s the story of a woman in Nairobi who insures her vegetable stall. A migrant worker in Manila who covers his hospital expenses with a tap. A community in Odisha that rebuilds faster after a cyclone because help arrived just in time.
Microfinance insurance is about choice, dignity and hope.
What’s next?
The future of microfinance insurance lies in convergence of technology, capital, regulation and empathy. Embedded insurance will become the norm woven into the apps we use, the services we consume, the payments we make.
Agritech, e-commerce, remittances, digital credit will become channels for smart, context-aware coverage.
Hyper-personalisation powered by AI will redefine what insurance’ means for the informal economy. Real-time, modular and behavioural, this will be insurance as a service, not a policy. And most importantly, we’ll see new kinds of alliances, insurers, telcos, governments, FinTech’s and social enterprises co-creating inclusive models at scale.
For global leaders, this is a call to imagine a new paradigm. To reframe insurance not as a product, but as a platform for mobility, for dignity, for intergenerational upliftment.
A future insured: vision, velocity and values
We are standing at a rare inflection point. The intersection of risk, innovation and inclusion has never been more critical or more promising. Microfinance insurance is the cornerstone of a more resilient, equitable future.
A future for the next billion who want choice, access and trust. And if we build with vision, powered by tech and governed by integrity, we’ll transform lives, societies and economies.
Let us seize this moment to architect a new era of inclusive protection where microinsurance becomes a strategic lever for global resilience and equitable growth for all.
