MiCRO
Microinsurance Catastrophe Risk Organisation (MiCRO) is a global for-profit company that provides a unique hybrid insurance product to low-income microentrepreneurs who otherwise have no safety nets. A set of triggers corresponding to wind speed, rainfall and earthquakes offer a timely payout after extreme weather events and natural disasters; additional funding provides coverage if the actual losses are greater than expected.
Mercy Corps co-founded MiCRO with Haiti's largest microfinance institution Fonkoze, with support from the UK's Department for International Development (DFID) and Swiss Re, a leading global reinsurance provider.
All stories about MiCRO
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Haiti: What does resilience look like? January 22, 2013
Discussions at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting this week will focus on how to better prepare for and minimize disasters of the future. In Haiti, we've been investing in communities to do just that.
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Haiti: Three years later, investing in the long-term January 11, 2013
Since the January 2010 earthquake, Mercy Corps has reached more than 1.6 million people with lifesaving assistance. Now, we're investing in youth, small business owners and rural communities to build back stronger.
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Haiti: Funds will help thousands rebuild after Sandy November 1, 2012
While residents in the northeastern U.S. begin the recovery after Superstorm Sandy, our teams in Haiti continue a rapid assessment of the massive destruction it caused there over the weekend.
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Haiti: Inside microinsurance in Haiti September 13, 2012
As Tropical Storm Isaac hit Haiti in late August, all eyes were watching to see whether the country would be overwhelmed by the latest storm.
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Haiti: Isaac update: Safety nets working in storm's wake August 30, 2012
As we've watched what became Hurricane Isaac batter the U.S. Gulf coast, the importance of a strengthened infrastructure and emergency plan — what we in the development world call "resilience-building" or "disaster risk reduction" — is incredibly clear. And close to home for many.
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Haiti: Female entrepreneurs bounce back April 6, 2012
Haiti is a land of micro-entrepreneurs. In every town, on every street, shopkeepers, traders and craftsmen are working hard to provide their communities with the essential goods and services of daily life — and in so doing, lift their own families from poverty.
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Haiti: Protecting small business owners in Haiti February 9, 2012
After the devastation of the earthquake two years ago, Mercy Corps developed MiCRO (Microinsurance Catastrophic Risk Organization) to protect small business owners, especially women, from natural disasters.