African Risk Capacity
African Risk Capacity (ARC) is a Specialized Agency of the African Union providing sovereign parametric insurance to AU member state governments. ARC operates pooled risk facilities covering drought, tropical cyclones, floods, and epidemic outbreaks, supported by its proprietary Africa RiskView monitoring platform.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersJohannesburg, South Africa
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What African Risk Capacity does
African Risk Capacity (ARC) Group is a Specialized Agency of the African Union established in 2012 under the ARC Treaty (which entered into force in April 2020) to help AU member state governments plan for, prepare for, and respond to extreme weather events and natural disasters. The group operates through two entities: ARC Agency, headquartered in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, and ARC Insurance Company Limited (ARC Ltd), the insurance affiliate registered in South Africa (Sandton). ARC's mission is to provide rapid, predictable financing to African governments when climate-related disasters occur, replacing slow traditional emergency appeals with pre-arranged risk transfer.
ARC's core technology is sovereign parametric insurance. Its proprietary platform, Africa RiskView, ingests satellite and weather station data to produce drought and rainfall indices; ARC has layered on this base a Tropical Cyclone product (for the South West Indian Ocean, launched 2020), an Outbreaks and Epidemics product covering Ebola, Marburg, Lassa fever, and Meningitis, and most recently a River Flood product (Africa's first sovereign parametric flood policy, launched January 2026 in partnership with JBA Risk Management). All products trigger payouts automatically when predefined scientific thresholds are met, with flood payouts disbursed within ten days of a confirmed event. Supporting infrastructure includes the Replica programme (allowing UN agencies and humanitarian actors to match country policies), a Capacity Building Programme that trains government officials in risk modelling and contingency planning, and an Extreme Climate Facility for additional climate risk financing.
ARC's business model combines recurring sovereign insurance premiums (paid by member state governments, often annual, typically 85% subsidised by donor partners including KfW, SDC, AfDB via the ADRiFi programme, InsuResilience Solutions Fund, Humanity Insured, and bilateral government donors) with donor grants underwriting operational costs. Distribution is conducted through enterprise field sales: Technical Working Groups engage ministries of finance, disaster management, agriculture, and meteorology; countries sign MoUs and complete peer-reviewed contingency plans before policies can be issued. Cumulative outcome metrics since 2014 include over 300 sovereign insurance policies issued, cumulative coverage of USD 719 million, USD 250+ million in claims paid out, and protection for approximately 72 million vulnerable people across 30+ AU member states.
African Risk Capacity firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- African Risk Capacity
- Legal name
- African Risk Capacity Group
- Website
- https://arc.int
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- African Risk Capacity (ARC) is a Specialized Agency of the African Union providing sovereign parametric insurance to AU member state governments. ARC operates pooled risk facilities covering drought, tropical cyclones, floods, and epidemic outbreaks, supported by its proprietary Africa RiskView monitoring platform.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
African Risk Capacity industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Sovereign Disaster Risk Insurance
- NAICS
- Other Insurance Funds (52519), Insurance and Employee Benefit Funds (5251)
- SIC
- Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service (6411), Accident & Health Insurance (6321)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Facility Emergency Response Plans (ERP) & Integrated Contingency Plans (ICP) (EUAHALAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Advisory (BPAHAFAA)
Keywords
Where African Risk Capacity is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Johannesburg
- HQ country
- South Africa
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices2 records
Markets served
African Risk Capacity business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Sovereign Parametric Insurance Premiums: ARC member state governments pay insurance premiums through national budget processes to purchase parametric insurance coverage against climate disasters. Premiums are often co-funded or subsidized by donor partners.
- Risk Pooling and Reinsurance: ARC Ltd acts as a mutual insurance facility providing risk transfer services through risk pooling and access to reinsurance markets. Countries pay premiums into the pool and receive payouts when parametric triggers are met.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Sovereign parametric drought insurance |
| Subscription | Annual | Sovereign parametric flood insurance (new product launched 2026) |
| Subscription | Annual | Parametric rainfall insurance for cities - Pikine, Senegal |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
African Risk Capacity product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ARC is a Specialized Agency of the African Union that provides sovereign parametric insurance and disaster risk financing products to AU member state governments. Its portfolio covers drought, tropical cyclone, river flood, and outbreaks and epidemics risks, with payouts triggered automatically by predefined scientific thresholds measured by satellite data, weather stations, and hydrological models. Supporting offerings include the Africa RiskView early warning platform, ARC Replica coverage for humanitarian partners, capacity building, and the Extreme Climate Facility.
Product overview
African Risk Capacity (ARC) Group is a Specialized Agency of the African Union that operates as a parametric insurance and disaster risk management platform. The organization offers a portfolio of sovereign parametric insurance products including Drought Risk Insurance, Tropical Cyclone Insurance, River Flood Insurance (Africa's first sovereign parametric flood product launched January 2026), and Outbreaks and Epidemics coverage. These products are supported by Africa RiskView, ARC's technical software for early warning and monitoring, and the ARC Replica Coverage programme enabling humanitarian actors to match country policies. The Capacity Building Programme and Extreme Climate Facility provide additional support mechanisms. All products use parametric triggers based on scientific data and predefined thresholds to enable rapid payouts within days of disaster events.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Africa RiskView: Technical software for early warning and monitoring of rainfall and drought index developments
- ARC Replica
- ARC Capacity Building Programme
- Outbreaks and Epidemics Programme
- ARC Ltd
- ARC Agency
Products and services
- Drought Risk Insurance Parametric insurance product that triggers payouts to African governments when predefined drought indices are met, enabling early disaster response and food security protection.
- Tropical Cyclone Insurance Parametric insurance covering tropical cyclone risks for AU member states in the South West Indian Ocean region, with payouts triggered by objective wind speed and pressure thresholds.
- River Flood Insurance Parametric flood insurance policy using scientific data and advanced hydrological models to enable objective payouts within ten days when predefined flood impact thresholds are reached.
- Outbreaks and Epidemics (O&E) Programme Parametric risk insurance programme targeting four diseases of epidemic potential (Ebola, Marburg, Lassa fever, and Meningitis), providing risk profiling, modelling, contingency planning, and funding options for outbreak response.
- ARC Replica Coverage Programme allowing UN agencies and humanitarian actors (such as WFP, Start Network) to match ARC country insurance policies, enabling matching coverage and doubling effective insurance protection.
- Africa RiskView Technical software platform for early warning, monitoring, and risk assessment providing information about rainfall and drought index developments and their potential impact on vulnerable populations.
- Capacity Building Programme Structured programme preparing African governments for effective Disaster Risk Management through training in risk modelling, contingency planning, and risk transfer, forming a prerequisite for parametric insurance uptake.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over USD 250 million in claims paid out since 2014
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use African Risk Capacity
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
African Risk Capacity technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
African Risk Capacity partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered strategic, core and minor.
- TrustAfricastrategicMoU signed to advance gender-responsive disaster risk management and climate action across Africa. Collaboration aims to strengthen resilience of vulnerable communities, particularly women, youth, and smallholder farmers.
- Insurance Development Forum (IDF)coreTripartite Agreement Programme between IDF, UNDP, and BMZ to provide parametric flood insurance. IDF member organizations including AXA Climate, AXA Mansard, Swiss Re, JBA Risk Management, and ICEYE designed the insurance product.
- JBA Risk ManagementcoreCollaborated with JBA Risk Management to develop Africa's first sovereign parametric flood insurance product. JBA provides advanced flood risk modeling and hydrological models that enable objective and transparent payouts when predefined impact thresholds are reached.
- Danish Red Cross / Malawi Red Cross SocietyminorLaunched parametric flood insurance pilot programme in Phalombe District, Malawi, with support from ARC, JBA Global Resilience, and InsuResilience Solutions Fund.
- Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI)strategicMoU to enhance climate resilience in Africa through joint projects on climate risk management, capacity building, research, and resource mobilization for climate adaptation.
- UN WomenstrategicMoU to promote integration of gender equality in disaster risk management. Joint advocacy, communication, awareness-building, and resource mobilization for gender-responsive DRM in Sahel and other African countries.
- Institut Pasteur de Dakar (IP Dakar)strategicPartnership to support regional capacities for epidemiological surveillance and outbreak response. Targets 4 diseases of epidemic potential including Ebola, Marburg, Lassa fever, and Meningitis.
- African Development Bank (AfDB)coreLong-standing partnership enabling ARC to provide coverage on concessional terms to member states. Through Africa Disaster Risk Financing Programme (ADRiFi), AfDB co-finances insurance premiums with ARC Group.
- World Food Programme (WFP)coreReplica partner that purchases insurance policies on behalf of countries, increasing coverage reach. WFP has received payouts for Zimbabwe (USD 6.1m), Mozambique (USD 3.5m), and Malawi drought responses.
- Start NetworkcoreHumanitarian organization and Replica partner that takes out insurance on behalf of countries. Received USD 8.9 million payout for Zimbabwe drought response in 2024.
- UNDPcorePartnership through Tripartite Agreement Programme with IDF and BMZ for parametric flood insurance solutions.
- Global Center on Adaptation (GCA)strategicPartnership to promote Climate Resilience and Disaster Risk Finance across Africa.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
African Risk Capacity competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- CCRIF SPC (Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility): The original regional parametric insurance pool for sovereign governments, providing earthquake, hurricane, and excess rainfall coverage to Caribbean/Central American states. ARC is often described as the African counterpart to CCRIF, sharing the mutual-pool, donor-subsidized, parametric-trigger model.
- Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Company (PCRIC): Parametric insurance pool serving Pacific Island sovereigns against tropical cyclones, earthquakes, and tsunamis. Closely comparable to ARC in structure (regional mutual facility), peril focus (cyclones/drought), and donor-supported concessional pricing.
Regional players
- African Trade and Investment Development Insurance (ATIDI): Pan-African multilateral political risk and investment insurance provider operating across the same member states as ARC. Comparable in continental scope and African institutional mandate but focused on trade/investment risk rather than natural catastrophe parametric risk.
Emerging players
- Global Parametrics: Specialized parametric reinsurance platform backed by the UK's Centre for Disaster Protection and other development funders. Comparable to ARC in parametric trigger methodology and development-finance orientation, though operating as a private reinsurance intermediary rather than a sovereign facility.
- AXA Climate: Climate insurance and adaptation arm of AXA, designing parametric solutions for public and private clients and an IDF partner on ARC's flood product. Comparable in parametric methodology but commercial rather than multilateral in structure.
Others
- Centre for Disaster Protection: UK-funded initiative advancing pre-arranged disaster risk financing in developing countries. Operates in overlapping geographies and shares ARC's mission of expanding parametric and forecast-based financing for sovereign climate response.
- JBA Risk Management: Flood risk analytics firm and ARC's technology partner for the 2026 parametric flood launch. Provides the hydrological modelling backbone for ARC's flood product; comparable as a flood-risk technology vendor serving insurance markets globally.
- Start Network: Humanitarian aid network of NGOs that operates as a Replica partner to ARC. Comparable in climate-linked humanitarian response and in deploying pre-arranged financing, though Start Network is an NGO consortium rather than an insurance vehicle.
Broad incumbents
- Swiss Re: One of the world's largest reinsurers and an ARC Replica/reinsurance partner. Swiss Re provides reinsurance capacity to ARC's pools and develops parametric solutions more broadly; it represents both an enabling partner and a potential alternative for sovereign clients seeking parametric cover.
- Munich Re: Global reinsurance incumbent active in parametric and climate risk transfer across emerging markets. Comparable as a competing capacity provider for sovereign parametric programmes and a potential alternative reinsurer to ARC's existing pools.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
African Risk Capacity social profiles
Digital presenceAfrican Risk Capacity financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
African Risk Capacity leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
African Risk Capacity subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
African Risk Capacity funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
African Risk Capacity M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about African Risk Capacity
What does African Risk Capacity do?
ARC is a Specialized Agency of the African Union that provides sovereign parametric insurance and disaster risk financing products to AU member state governments. Its portfolio covers drought, tropical cyclone, river flood, and outbreaks and epidemics risks, with payouts triggered automatically by predefined scientific thresholds measured by satellite data, weather stations, and hydrological models. Supporting offerings include the Africa RiskView early warning platform, ARC Replica coverage for humanitarian partners, capacity building, and the Extreme Climate Facility.
Is African Risk Capacity a public or private company?
African Risk Capacity is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was African Risk Capacity founded?
African Risk Capacity was founded in 2012. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is African Risk Capacity based?
African Risk Capacity is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, in the Africa region.
How does African Risk Capacity make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Sovereign Parametric Insurance Premiums are the primary driver. The others are risk Pooling and Reinsurance.
Who are African Risk Capacity's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are CCRIF SPC (Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility) and Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Company (PCRIC). African Trade and Investment Development Insurance (ATIDI) is listed as a regional player. Emerging players are Global Parametrics and AXA Climate. Others are Centre for Disaster Protection, JBA Risk Management and Start Network. Broad incumbents are Swiss Re and Munich Re.
Does African Risk Capacity have an API?
No public API is recorded for African Risk Capacity.
What industry is African Risk Capacity in?
African Risk Capacity's product category is Sovereign Disaster Risk Insurance. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EUAHALAB, Facility Emergency Response Plans (ERP) & Integrated Contingency Plans (ICP), with a secondary code of BPAHAFAA, Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Advisory. Its NAICS code is 52519 and its SIC code is 6411.