Biography Microinsurance Conference 2008

Craig Churchill, ILO, Switzerland

Craig Churchill has considerable microfinance experience in both developed and developing countries including Get Ahead Foundation in South Africa, ACCION International and the MicroFinance Network in the US, and Calmeadow in Canada.

In his current position in the ILO’s Social Finance Programme, he focuses primarily on the role of financial services that the poor can use to manage risks and reduce their vulnerability, including savings, insurance and emergency loans. He serves of the Chair of the CGAP Working Group on Microinsurance, and on the Editorial Board of the MicroBanking Bulletin. He has recently launched the Microinsurance Innovation Facility, a five-year partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation designed to stimulate the development of insurance to help promote decent work for tens of millions of low-income people in the developing world.

Craig has authored and edited over 40 articles, papers, monographs and training manuals on various microfinance topics including microinsurance, customer loyalty, organizational development, governance, lending methodologies, regulation and supervision, and financial services for the poorest of the poor. His most recent publication, Protecting the poor: A microinsurance compendium (Geneva: ILO, Munich Re Foundation), which he edited, is the most authoritative book on the subject. He has a BA from Williams College and an MA from Clark University, both in Massachusetts.