Britam General Insurance, DHAN Foundation, and RADIANT YAKU Ltd announced as Finalists for European Microfinance Award 2025 on ‘Building Resilience through Inclusive Insurance’

Britam General Insurance, DHAN Foundation, and RADIANT YAKU Ltd announced as Finalists for European Microfinance Award 2025 on ‘Building Resilience through Inclusive Insurance’

• Record field of 103 organisations from 43 countries applied in Round 1; subsequently evaluated over several committee stages
• Selection Committee of experts chose 12 semi-finalists, including three finalists to go to High Jury for evaluation and selection of winner
• Winner announced at ceremony at EIB on Thursday November 13, 2025
• €100,000 prize for winner; €10,000 for each runner-up
• Three finalists and nine semi-finalists to be profiled in e-MFP’s annual Award publication, launched during e-MFP’s annual event in November

Date: 16 September 2025, Luxembourg

On 10th and 11th September 2025, the Selection Committee for the European Microfinance Award 2025 (EMA2025) on “Building Resilience through Inclusive Insurance” selected the three finalists who will go on to compete for the €100,000 prize: Britam General Insurance from Kenya; DHAN Foundation from India; and RADIANT YAKU Ltd. from Rwanda.

Climate shocks, health crises, natural disasters, and other risks fall hardest on vulnerable and low-income populations, undermining livelihoods, forcing people into poverty traps, and stalling progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals. Insurance can play a critical role in helping these populations absorb shocks, manage uncertainty, and recover with dignity. Yet uptake remains limited, due to affordability, accessibility, awareness, and trust barriers.

How can these barriers be overcome? This year’s Award seeks to highlight institutions that are designing and delivering inclusive insurance solutions that address them, building resilience at the household, community, and system level. By showcasing innovative, pioneering approaches, the EMA2025 aims to highlight organisations that enable low-income and vulnerable people to build resilience and manage risk thanks to inclusive and effective insurance.

The EMA2025 application process began in March, with Round 1 receiving an unprecedented 103 applications from 43 countries. After a first committee assessment, 44 of these were evaluated in the more comprehensive Round 2. The EMA evaluation team assessed these applications against rigorous and established criteria before 21 applicants from 15 countries were forwarded to an expert Selection Committee, including the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, and members of e-MFP, the Inclusive Finance Network Luxembourg (InFiNe.lu) and Microinsurance Network – a key strategic partner of the Award this year. This Selection Committee met over two days and chose 12 semi-finalists, and among them the three finalists:

• Britam General Insurance from Kenya is a pan-African commercial insurer that in Kenya has developed inclusive microinsurance products to extend protection to underserved households in a country highly exposed to climate and health shocks. Through partnerships with banks, cooperatives, and digital platforms, Britam provides low-cost cover for life, health, agriculture, and property, using simplified enrolment and mobile payment channels to keep products affordable and accessible. Its inclusive insurance lines now reach large segments of rural and low-income Kenyans, demonstrating how a mainstream insurer can adapt its model to deliver resilience at scale.

• DHAN (Development of Humane Action) Foundation from India is a long-established grassroots development organisation that pioneered community-based mutual insurance in India. Through its People Mutuals programme, DHAN offers health, life, and asset cover designed and owned by low-income communities, with products adapted to the risks of smallholder farmers, informal workers, and women. The mutual model emphasises education, solidarity, and community governance, and has reached tens of thousands of members with protection that is both affordable and trusted. DHAN’s experience highlights the potential of mutuals to build lasting resilience in contexts where commercial insurers rarely reach.

• RADIANT YACU Ltd from Rwanda is a cooperative health insurer serving savings groups and rural households across Rwanda. Its model bundles affordable hospital cash and funeral cover with microfinance services, leveraging group structures to make enrolment simple and premiums sustainable. RADIANT YACU complements Rwanda’s national health insurance by covering indirect costs such as lost income and transport, which remain a heavy burden for poor households. With a focus on vulnerable women and children, and rapid claims settlement through community channels, RADIANT YACU demonstrates how cooperative insurers can fill critical gaps in national protection systems.

The entire Award organising team would also like to pass on congratulations to the other nine Award semi-finalists as well: Banco VisionFund Ecuador, CARD Pioneer Microinsurance from the Philippines, Fundación delamujer from Colombia, Green Delta Insurance from Bangladesh, Gujarat Mahila Housing Trust from India, Kashf Foundation from Pakistan, Lumkani from South Africa, Micro Risk Solutions from Mexico, and Seguros Bolívar S.A. from Colombia.

After the announcement of the three finalists, e-MFP’s Chairwoman Lucia Spaggiari said:

“Resilience is the defining challenge of our time. From climate change to health risks and economic instability, vulnerable communities are exposed to shocks that can wipe out livelihoods in an instant. Inclusive insurance has a vital role to play in protecting those most at risk, giving them the means to face uncertainty with confidence and to recover when crises hit. The three finalists for this year’s Award offer inspiring examples of how innovative, accessible insurance solutions can truly make a difference.”

Laurence Hulin, Chairwoman of the Inclusive Finance Network Luxembourg (InFiNe.lu), who served as a member of the Selection Committee, added:

“Through the projects we reviewed, it became clear that resilience development is an absolute necessity. Communities worldwide face mounting pressures from converging crises: accelerating climate change impacts, deepening social challenges, and geopolitical tensions, while protectionist policies risk undermining international support for inclusive finance. The rise of inclusive insurance offers powerful hope, providing safety nets in fragile regions and reaching long-underserved populations. These initiatives demonstrate innovation, courage, and tangible impact, transforming uncertainty into opportunity and vulnerability into strength.”

The winner will be chosen from the three finalists by a High Jury and announced on 13th November 2025 at a ceremony hosted at the headquarters of the European Investment Bank in Luxembourg. All 12 semi-finalists will be profiled in e-MFP’s annual Award publication, which will also summarise the “factors for success” and the EMA team’s insights from the process that underpin the different initiatives, strategies, and programs that this year’s Award has uncovered.