Uganda’s micro-insurance market remains underdeveloped despite more than a decade of activity, with limited uptake and other barriers preventing many people and businesses from accessing insurance protection.
To address these gaps, United Nations Development Programme Uganda, through its Insurance and Risk Finance Facility (IRFF), in collaboration with the Insurance Regulatory Authority Uganda (IRA), has launched the 2026 Insurance Innovation Challenge.
The challenge seeks to identify and support inclusive, commercially viable insurance solutions that can expand market reach and improve protection for underserved communities.
About the Insurance Innovation Challenge
The Insurance Innovation Challenge aims to use insurance and risk financing to protect lives, livelihoods and assets while contributing to economic growth and resilience in Uganda.
The challenge will support solutions that can address insurance access gaps through innovation, technology, new distribution channels and partnerships.
The focus areas include:
- Resilient households, communities and countries
- Businesses
- Nature and food systems
The programme also aims to generate insights and guidance that can help successful insurance models be replicated in other markets.
Who Can Apply
The challenge is open to established organisations as well as early-stage innovators in Uganda.
Established organisations and businesses include:
- Graduates and participants of the IRA InsureX programme
- Micro-insurance companies
- Insurance companies, brokers and bancassurance agents with micro-insurance solutions
- Technology companies, including AgriTech, FinTech, InsurTech and HealthTech companies
Early-stage and non-standard innovators include:
- University-based innovators
- Startups
- Individual innovators with a clear development roadmap
- Early-stage organisations
- Entrepreneurs
- Community-based innovators
Early-stage applicants should demonstrate a viable strategy for formalisation or collaboration with an established entity to support successful implementation and scaling.
What the Challenge Seeks
The Insurance Innovation Challenge is looking for solutions that can:
- Expand access to insurance among underserved populations.
- Develop innovative and inclusive insurance models.
- Use technology to improve insurance access and delivery.
- Introduce new distribution channels and partnerships.
- Address protection gaps affecting households, communities and businesses.
- Support resilience in nature and food systems.
- Enable local insurance and private-sector actors to develop tailored products and services.
- Demonstrate potential for replication and scaling.
Eligibility
Applicants must be developing or offering solutions relevant to insurance access and risk financing in Uganda.
- Established applicants should fall within one of the identified categories, including insurance providers, micro-insurance companies, InsurTechs, FinTechs, AgriTechs, HealthTechs and graduates or participants of the IRA InsureX programme.
- Early-stage applicants should have a clear pathway for developing, formalising or partnering with an established organisation to implement and scale their solution.
