MFW4A hosted a two (2) day workshop on “Closing the Trade Finance Gap for African SMEs” in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire on 19-20 June, 2018. The event brought together local banks, other financial institutions, and development partners to identify and investigate the barriers to bank-intermediated trade finance in Africa, with a focus on the specific challenges and solutions for small and medium sized enterprises. Read more.

With the aim of collecting insights and perspectives related to the high interest rate cost of housing across the continent, Making Finance Work for Africa and the Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa (CAHF) organized a webinar, entitled "Lowering the high interest rate cost of housing finance in Africa," on 21 June, 2018. Read more about the report.

Making Finance Work for Africa, Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), Planet Guarantee, University of Kent and Oklahoma State University presented a webinar, entitled "Enhancing Access to Index-Based Weather Insurance: A New Marketing Approach in Burkina Faso," on 27 June, 2018. Based on the findings of studies conducted in Burkina Faso and Ghana, the webinar provided an overview of the state of the index-based weather insurance in the West African region, and explored the challenges facing agriculture insurance uptake across the continent. Read more about the report.