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The purpose of this paper is to briefly review the Sudanese micro-insurance (micro-takaful) experience as a case study of Sharia-compliant microinsurance industry in Africa. The paper starts with the concept and then moves to micro-takaful in Sudan. The review of the Sudanese experience in micro-takaful is made through four sections, based on historical evolution: Section (1): discuses initial ideas of micro-takaful before 2008. Section (2): elaborates on the experience of microtakaful during the period 2008-onward. Section (3): reviews the application of the micro-takaful a san insurance & guarantee at the same time via the Joint Comprehensive Policy (JCP) and the Comprehensive Insurance Policy (CIP) that has been adopted recently. The final section includes the conclusion and policy recommendations. The paper borrows from previous studies and data collected from the Central Bank of Sudan and uses the descriptive analysis approach to reach its conclusions. The study emphasises on both the experience and the importance of insurance in poverty alleviation efforts through microfinance programs in Sudan. The growth and expansion of Sharia-compliant micro insurance in Sudan, we argue, has made many new ideas, trials, and applications everyone can learn from, including the use of micro-insurance to resolve the issue of absence of guarantees/collaterals among poor microfinance clients. The study singles out the poor awareness of insurance and lack of training as the most outstanding constraints. The Sudanese micro-takaful industry, we emphasize, needs more efforts to reduce the high administrative costs for all parties involved; disseminating insurance awareness among different actors; encouraging and supporting more partnerships between insurers and microfinance providers; build stakeholders’ capacity; and, expand the Comprehensive Insurance Policy to include health insurance and other products at reasonable risk-based pricing in different sectors.
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