The strategy developed through the new partnership will combine optimal use of public funds and private market capital to better assist and support vulnerable populations.
Sitting under both the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Community Development, Social and Territorial Equity, the FSN is in charge of providing an immediate response to emergency needs from populations affected by crises, disasters and displacements. In 2021, in the aftermath of COVID-19, President Macky Sall reformed its status to an independent financial entity, which is now looking to act as a centralised financial response body and vehicle, channelling financial assistance from a variety of sources in a highly complementary and cost-efficient way.
The current regional drought conditions and global political environment (Senegal is importing more than 50% of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine and West Africa is currently facing its worst food crisis in 10 years) require prompt action and ambitious, at-scale implementation plans. They also call for innovative solutions, which make targeted use of public funding whilst leveraging private markets expertise and sovereign de-risking products.
In this context, the partnership with Gallagher Re’s Public Sector & Climate Resilience Solutions global practice is an important stepping-stone towards the cost-effective management of FSN’s financial liabilities and the protection of Senegal’s most vulnerable populations. Over the next few months, it will focus on the development of a holistic risk financing strategy which will prioritise perils and target beneficiaries and explore the use of sophisticated de-risking mechanisms, such as derivative and parametric products where most relevant.
Longer-term, Gallagher Re’s global practice will seek to conduct implementation and operationalisation activities to ensure the FSN is fully equipped with the right financing instruments, triggering adequate compensations to affected populations through the right distribution channels, in full transparency and at the right time.
Mamadou Ndao, Director of the FSN, announced: “We are very pleased to be teaming up with Gallagher Re during this critical early stage of our development. Their highly specialised knowledge and international experience in practical operationalisation of similar public funds will be of tremendous value to us and we look forward to laying out together the various building blocks of societal and financial resilience in Senegal for the years to come.”
Antoine Bavandi, Global Head of Public Sector, Parametric & Climate Resilience Solutions at Gallagher Re, commented: “We are deeply honoured to begin this journey with the FSN and to support its critical mission. We look forward to leveraging our core expertise on topics spanning public-private partnerships, climate and systemic risk modelling, financial analytics and product structuring. In the current political and climate context, we aim to offer comprehensive resilience solutions to a broad range of interconnected risks and global threats. We very much welcome President Sall’s vision and the FSN’s bold development plans, which could pave the way to further deployments across the region as well.”
Natalie van de Coolwijk, Regional Director, Middle East & Africa at Gallagher Re, added: “The risk environment has changed dramatically over the last few years, leaving economies and communities, particularly in West Africa, vulnerable and exposed. It is a privilege for Gallagher Re to support ground-breaking initiatives, such as Senegal’s Public Solidarity Fund, aimed at changing this narrative. Our goal is to deliver financial stability and sustainability to our clients and stakeholders through the provision of comprehensive, relevant and impactful solutions, from analytics and modelling to product structuring and risk financing. With global threats and interconnected risks on the rise, we will be better equipped to face the future, together.”
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