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Lesley Ndlovu
African Risk Capacity Ltd (ARC)
Lesley Ndlovu is Chief Executive Officer of African Risk Capacity Ltd (ARC), a specialised insurance company that provides parametric insurance coverage against weather-related risks such as droughts, floods and tropical cyclones. Under his leadership ARC underwrote the largest insurance pool in the history of the company, providing insurance coverage to 12 million Africans who are vulnerable to the devastating effects of natural disasters.
Prior to ARC, Ndlovu held senior leadership positions in the financial services sector in Bermuda, Singapore, France, the United Kingdom and South Africa. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the UN Principles of Sustainable Insurance.
Lesley was educated at Christ Church, University of Oxford in England and at the Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires (INSEAD) in France. He is a CFA charter holder, a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England & Wales, an Associate in Reinsurance with the CPCU Society and a member of the Institute of Directors.
About African Risk Capacity Ltd (ARC)
African Risk Capacity Limited (ARC Ltd.) was launched in 2014 to operate as a unique hybrid mutual insurer and financial arm of the broader African Risk Capacity Group. Our unique mandate from the African Union was to provide insurance and other risk transfer solutions to African countries, and we have pioneered climate resilience across the continent ever since.
Serving AU member states and farmer groups, we use innovative financing tools to pool climate risks across Africa and transfer them to international markets. This approach strengthens pan-African responses to natural disaster and ultimately contributes to food security. A key focus is to ensure that our portfolio matches the evolving needs of our member states and that we deliver cutting-edge solutions to climate change impacts.
With seed capital from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and Germany’s KfW Development Bank via BMZ, our mandate as a Class 2 mutual insurer has a commercial purpose.
We remain headquartered in Bermuda until such time that a comparable legal and regulatory environment exists in an AU member state.
By taking over the burden on governments and their people of natural disaster risks, ARC Ltd. can assist with a more measured, deliberate response. Through our risk financing instruments, rapid, predictable payouts are triggered for preapproved contingency plans when disasters strike, thereby saving lives and livelihoods.