FRA, FSD Urge Companies to Adopt Principles of Sustainable Insurance

The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) welcomed the announcement by the African Development Agency “FSD Africa” - a non-profit organization backed by the UK government - that it is undertaking a set of initiatives to support Egypt’s implement environmental, social and governance standards related to sustainability, support Egyptian and regional insurance companies and encourage investment in innovative solutions to counter the effects of climate change.

It is expected that the financial markets in Egypt will benefit from the initiatives launched by the FSD, which aim to encourage economic activities compatible with the objectives of reducing carbon emissions, adapting to climate change and preserving natural capital resources.

The initiative will also enhance the efforts of the Egyptian government to build a more flexible and capable economy to remain steadfast in light of working to restore the Egyptian economy and face new challenges, including the economic repercussions resulting from global events.

The African agency is conducting advanced discussions with the FRA to work together to support the implementation of sustainability principles and environmental, social and governance disclosure standards related to sustainability in the insurance sector in Egypt, and discuss the agreement to implement a memorandum of understanding for insurance companies operating in Egypt to provide technical support ; Including the recent workshop dedicated to “Leaders of Climate Finance in Africa,” whose activities were hosted at the Commission’s Regional Center for Sustainable Finance late last week.

Mohamed Omran, Chairman of the Financial Supervisory Authority said that the authority is aware of the importance of applying sustainability practices and sustainable financing as main tools for economic growth, as sustainability has constituted - and still is - an important focus of the EFSA's strategy and represents one of its main priorities.

He added that the authority is always keen to work on encouraging partnerships with international bodies to urge insurance companies to develop new solutions that contribute to addressing environmental and social issues, and the integration of environmental, social and governance principles related to sustainability within insurance companies plays an important role in ensuring that the insurance sector in Egypt provides insurance products. innovative.

On his part, Gareth Bailey, British Ambassador to Egypt explained that the financial sector plays a key role in fulfilling our commitments to combat climate change, as highlighted by the high-profile climate action between the UK and Egypt in Bonn, Germany.

"I am pleased to see that sustainable financing is fast becoming one of the main pillars of the green partnership between the two countries. I particularly welcome cooperation and coordination efforts to enhance capacity building and deepen sustainable practices in the insurance sector and private insurance funds in Egypt and throughout the region.”

Commenting on these initiatives, FSD CEO Mark Napier said: “The agency is committed to working with regulators and government institutions to identify and mitigate risks from climate change and seize all opportunities to do so. Our new partnerships will contribute to qualifying our partners in Egypt and its neighboring countries to effectively address the risks of climate change and accelerate the transition to a green economy with great growth opportunities.”

Meantime, the Baramouda Company project focused on maximizing the efficiency of agricultural waste management by treating soil pollution and agricultural waste. The company created soil improvers and organic fertilizers from different types of agricultural waste. The fertilizers consist of organic and natural components of great benefit to the soil of agricultural land in Egypt.

The FSD also recently announced similar support for FinTech startups in Africa to provide innovative solutions that enable the most vulnerable communities to withstand the effects of climate change.