Ulrich Hess 2025 Speaker

“Ulrich Hess is Team Leader of the ICAMA Initiative at GIZ, catalysing innovative financing vehicles to support startups and growth firms across Africa.

A pioneer in innovative finance for development, Ulrich spent fourteen years at the World Bank and IFC (1998-2012), where he designed groundbreaking weather risk management and index-based insurance instruments. He launched weather index insurance initiatives in India (2003), Malawi (2004), Ethiopia (2005), and China (2007), and during a secondment to WFP as Chief of Disaster Risk Reduction, he developed systemic drought risk management solutions for the Government of Ethiopia.

Since joining GIZ in 2014, Ulrich has focused on financial system and private sector development. He managed agricultural and weather risk insurance projects in Zambia and globally (2014-2019), then led programmes in Tunisia and Jordan (2019-2025). He previously worked with MicroEnsure, a microinsurance broker, and in management and development consulting.

Ulrich holds Master’s degrees in Economics from Bocconi University, Milan, and Political Science from Freie Universität Berlin, with two years of studies at Sciences Po Paris and Yale Law School.”