NU Online News Service, Dec. 9, 3:38 p.m. EST
Janice M. Abraham, president and chief executive officer of United Educators, is packing her bags for Sydney, Australia.
The executive will be gone for about four months, working on a volunteer basis for LeapFrog Investments, the world's first microinsurance fund aimed at protecting the poor. The fund builds and invests in companies that will provide affordable insurance to low-income people.
"I will be going to talk about the importance of insurance--how to develop a company," Ms. Abraham told NU Online News Service. "Microfinance is helping the poor gain some wealth. The next step would be insurance, property and life, to make sure these people are not wiped out once they get off the ground."
Microfinance, a concept started in the 1970s by Mohammad Yunus while he was a professor in Bangladesh, offers poor people access to basic financial services such as loans, savings and other services. For example, small loans are given to people in poor countries such as the Philippines, Kenya, Ghana, India, Pakistan and South Africa to build businesses.
Mr. Yunus would go on to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.
The microinsurance market has developed to allow people to take the risk of starting a business and reduce the shock if disaster strikes. The idea is to alleviate poverty and stabilize incomes.
"The demand is out there because of microfinance," Ms. Abraham said. According to LeapFrog, clients have grown 28 percent since 2006. The size of the market is more than 1 billion people but penetration is less than 3 percent.
Andrew Kuper, who founded LeapFrog in 2007, has set a goal of reaching 25 million low-income people in Africa and Asia.
At the Clinton Global Initiative last year, Mr. Kuper said LeapFrog, "has built a bridge between profits and purpose" and the fund has made it possible for investors to not have to choose "between money and meaning."
Ms. Abraham said she will be traveling to other parts of the world to spread the message. She intends to write a blog about her experiences.
"Microinsurance is a social mission and it has shown it can work," Ms. Abraham said. "There are already stories about how this has protected families or allowed them to make good decisions they wouldn't have otherwise been able to make. I'm excited about this."
Ms. Abraham leaves at the end of January. To follow her blog, visit her page on Facebook.
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