Patty Karuaihe-Martin joins UNEP FI Leadership Council
By Freeman ya Ngulu.
Namibia National Reinsurance Corporation (NamibRe) Managing Director, Patty Karuaihe-Martin has joined the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) Leadership Council.
Chaired by Inger Andersen, United Nations Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme, the UNEP FI Leadership Council meets annually to provide vision and strategic direction to UNEP FI in orienting its role and that of the UN, in shaping, mainstreaming and deepening sustainability integration across the industry.
It is designed to further mobilise the financial community to support a sustainable, resilient, and inclusive economy.
The Namibian insurance industry witnessed a lack of reinsurance capacity for a very long time. This meant that most insurance companies had to buy reinsurance business from abroad. As a result, large volumes of capital outflow was headed for abroad.
It is against this background that Namibia National Reinsurance Corporation was established by an Act of Parliament (Act No.22 of 1998) to become a truly Namibian enterprise tasked with carrying out reinsurance business in Namibia.
The Leadership Council brings together Chief Executives and chairpersons of banks and insurers currently represented on one of the three elected UNEP FI governance bodies; the Global Steering Committee, the board of the Principles for Responsible Banking or the board of the Principles for Sustainable Insurance.
UNEP FI works with more than 400 members – banks, insurers, and investors – and over 100 supporting institutions – to help create a financial sector that serves people and planet while delivering positive impacts. UNEP FI aims to inspire, inform and enable financial institutions to improve people’s quality of life without compromising that of future generations. By leveraging the UN’s role, UNEP FI accelerates sustainable finance.
