Events
Grill the Expert: Andrew Zimba
Date: Wednesday 3rd June, 2026
Time: 8:00AM EDT | 13:00PM BST
Page Contents
About the Session
Join us for a preview of the upcoming "Learning Week on Disaster Risk Finance (DRF) 2026" in London – a flagship deliverable of the World Bank Group-Insurance Development Forum Knowledge Partnership, which will convene 17 emerging economies, industry partners, and other key DRF stakeholders from June 9-12, 2026. This Grill the Expert session will feature Andrew Zimba, Digital Solutions Lead at ZEP-RE and a practitioner on the World Bank-funded DRIVE project. Andrew brings frontline expertise in deploying digital and financial solutions for underserved pastoral communities. Through the conversation, we will explore several themes on market innovations, data scarcity, and scaling successful DRF initiatives that will also be highlighted during Learning Week 2026.
The session is conducted in English.
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About the Expert
Andrew Zimba is a Digital Solutions Lead at ZEP-RE (PTA Reinsurance Company), where he supports the World Bank-funded DRIVE (De-risking, Inclusion, and Value Enhancement) for Pastoralist Economies project. The project aims to increase pastoralists' access to financial services for drought mitigation, integrate them into value chains, and facilitate livestock trade across the Horn of Africa. In this role, Andrew leads the design and implementation of digital solutions that underpin these objectives, drawing on his expertise in software implementation, technical project delivery, and risk management. He works on-site in Nairobi, Kenya, driving the deployment of technology that brings measurable impact to underserved pastoral communities in the region.
Resources
Recording
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Jump to a section/question:
- 00:00 Welcome and housekeeping
- 04:43 Introduction of our expert: Andrew Zimba
- 06:25 What are insurance NATCAT products?
- 09:06 What is ZEP-RE?
- 11:50 What is the DRIVE program and how does it work?
- 16:00 What are some constraints in the sector and how do you suggest they are addressed?
- 19:30 How does this affect DRIVE directly?
- 22:20 How does this work from the pastoralists perspective?
- 28:22 Do you see AI taking a role in cost efficiencies, insurance solutions, or other dimensions?
- 34:04 How are you sharing DRIVE learnings? And do you see opportunities to apply these learnings else where?
- 38:33 Can you share about the nomadic aspect of the project? How have these challenges been tackled?
- 42:46 What are some lessons learnt you can share?
- 49:03 Partnering with the private sector, if you had to give a message to practitioners to create public private partnerships, what would it be?
- 51:52 Why are we not getting things right and what needs to change?
- 55:08 What is the biggest takeaway you can give to our audience?
Post event Q&A
These were the questions posed by the audience that we didn't have time to answer during the event.
1. What are the methods for generalizing universal or progressive coverage across the entire agricultural chain (the role of technologies)?
Universal coverage requires us to think beyond insurance as a standalone product and instead build protection across the entire agricultural value chain, from producers and pastoralists to markets, processors, and financial institutions.
Technology is the key enabler. Digital platforms, mobile money, satellite data, USSD, and agent networks significantly reduce the cost of reaching underserved communities. They also allow insurance, payments, savings, and credit to be delivered through a single ecosystem.
The goal is progressive inclusion: starting with basic insurance and gradually expanding access to broader financial and market services.
2. How to leverage the DI solution in scaling up the adoption and distribution of insurance across Africa?
The DI Platform solves one of the biggest challenges in insurance: distribution at scale.
It provides a digital backbone for registration, premium collection, policy management, claims processing, and integration with banks and mobile money providers.
Because the platform is modular, it can be replicated across different countries while adapting to local regulations and payment ecosystems. This allows faster expansion and lower implementation costs.
Looking ahead, AI can further accelerate adoption through automated training, local-language support, customer engagement, and improved data quality management.
3. How is the financial sustainability of DRIVE products ensured?
Financial sustainability comes from balancing affordability, scale, and efficiency.
Digital systems reduce operational costs, while partnerships with insurers, banks, mobile operators, and development partners create a broader ecosystem of value.
The long-term vision is to move beyond insurance alone and connect beneficiaries to savings, credit, and market opportunities. When products create economic value beyond risk protection, sustainability becomes much stronger.
4. Which role does reinsurance play in enabling the programme?
Reinsurance is the foundation that allows agricultural and climate risk insurance to operate on a scale.
It helps local insurers manage large and unpredictable risks such as droughts by spreading those risks across a wider pool of capital.
Beyond risk transfer, reinsurance also provides technical expertise in pricing, product design, and risk management. Ultimately, it builds confidence in the insurance ecosystem and ensures claims can be paid when communities need them most.
Foot note: If insurance is the promise of protection, digital infrastructure is the mechanism that delivers that promise, and reinsurance is the financial strength that makes it credible.