Mobile Microinsurance and Financial Inclusion: The Case of Developing African Countries

The paper seeks to investigate the relationship between mobile microinsurance and financial inclusion in developing countries. Through a review of literature, the author advances the hypothesis that inclusive financing is more likely to be successful in countries where mobile microinsurance is being used than countries where the service is not available to the low-income people. The study’s drive is predicated on the argument that mobile platform including mobile money can be used as a measure to mitigate the inherent transaction costs of microinsurance and to assist in the building of volume of microinsurance and mobile microinsurance policies. Despite some identified challenges, the findings reveal that leveraging use of relatively low-cost mobile channels of microinsurance could promote the effective accessibility of microinsurance, providing the opportunities to reach the low-income households in remote places and contribute to financial inclusion. Finally, the author points to some possible ways for mobilizing mobile microinsurance to enable effective financial inclusion.