Panel Discussion
Building Resilience:
Innovative Approaches to Adapting to Climate Change
Zoom Webinar
Monday, April 19, 2021 | 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM ET
In recent years, much of the conversation about climate change in the international sphere has focused on large multinational climate treaties, however just as pressing is the immediate threat that climate change poses for countries with limited abilities to mitigate its effects. In the coming years, the impacts of climate change will disproportionately affect the world’s 46 Lesser Developed Countries, yet these nations lack the funding to make significant progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. What solutions can be leveraged to prevent and respond to climate disasters in vulnerable regions? Tune in for a discussion about financing climate resilience in partnership with the United Nations Capital Development Fund on Monday, April 19th, from 1:00 to 2:00 PM ET, when we are joined by Abhisheik Dhawan, Sustainable Finance and Partnership Specialist at the UNCDF, Michael McCord, Principal and Managing Director at the MicroInsurance Centre at Milliman’s Appleton, WI Office, and Maria Rapin, CEO of Nephila Climate.
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SPEAKERS:
Maria Rapin
Maria Rapin is CEO of Nephila Climate and a member of the Climate advisory board and firm ESG Committee. She is responsible for the strategy and overseeing the investment process for our climate strategies which aim to move scalable capital to support sustainable development. Before joining us in 2015, she was a portfolio manager at SCOR Alternative Investments in Paris, where she worked on insurance-linked investments. Maria began her career with Swiss Re capital markets team working on the structuring, distribution and trading of catastrophe bonds in New York and London, working with institutional investors in North America, Asia and Europe. She has a BBA in International Business/Information Systems from The George Washington University.
Abhisheik Dhawan
Abhisheik Dhawan is currently working as Partnerships Specialist with UNCDF. With over 17 years of experience in international markets and financial services, he has worked with banks and technology companies, including startups, in India and the United States, engaging with clients across continents. Over the last eight years, he has shifted focus to sustainable development.
Abhisheik started on his banking career of over a decade with IDBI Bank at Bangalore, India’s tech capital, with a focus on the IT industry. Subsequently, he worked as Director at Standard Chartered Bank covering middle market and large corporate clients.
Abhisheik has completed an MPA with a concentration on Economic and Energy Policy and Finance from Columbia University in New York. He also holds an MBA in Finance from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM Kozhikode), CFA-Level II and a Beach in Mining Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (ISM- Dhanbad).
Michael McCord
Michael McCord is one of the world’s leading experts in developing and managing microinsurance products. His decades of experience include working as controller of a U.S. commercial bank, chief executive officer of a microfinance institution in Uganda, and regional director for microfinance programs in Africa with FINCA International.
In 2000, Michael founded the MicroInsurance Centre, an internationally recognized consulting firm and microinsurance thought leader committed to providing three billion low-income people across the world with access to valuable microinsurance products. In September 2017, the MicroInsurance Centre joined Milliman, a global consulting firm with deep insurance expertise and a shared vision for protecting people in emerging markets from sliding back into poverty.
Michael specializes in institutional development for microinsurance, development of new products, and analysis of microinsurance programs. He has worked in over 70 countries for clients that include commercial insurers, foundations, bi- and multi-lateral development agencies, regulators, non-governmental organizations, and others. In addition to his consulting and advocacy work, Michael has written extensively on microinsurance, including numerous microinsurance case studies, reports, and manuals, and has provided microinsurance training to thousands of people across the globe.
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