Barbara Chesire

Barbara has been in the insurance industry for the last 15 years and is a champion for inclusive insurance as a tool for poverty alleviation. An actuarial scientist by training, Barbara is passionate to see insurance play a role in increasing financial resilience across the continent. She co-founded AB Consultants in 2014 with the aim to build the capacity of the African insurance industry to offer meaningful solutions and to make insurance accessible to those who need it most. She has led inclusive insurance projects in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Ghana, Zambia and Mozambique, with a focus on market research, human-centered design approach to product development, strategy formulation, regulation and actuarial advisory.

Barbara has pioneered several initiatives within the insurance industry including design of the first Human-Wildlife Conflict Insurance scheme in Kenya and development of an insurance game, ResilientME! that aims to educate people of all ages about insurance and financial management. Barbara serves on the board of Britam General Insurance Kenya, a leading insurer in Kenya, and St. Andrews School, Turi, an international boarding school in Kenya.