The most interesting social finance tools you probably don’t know about
By Elissa Miolene // 14 October 2025
Lagos — the coastal capital of Nigeria — is sinking.
It’s long been a city defined by water, with a lagoon to its east, the Atlantic to its south, and canals spiraling through its ever-growing neighborhoods. Year after year, people have poured into the city at a relentless pace — fueling development that has accelerated coastal erosion, destroyed local ecosystems, and heightened flood risk.
But instead of pouring money into post-disaster aid, the United Nations Development Programme is experimenting with something different: insurance.
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About the author
Elissa Miolene
Elissa Miolene covers U.S. foreign assistance from Washington, D.C. She previously covered education at The San Jose Mercury News, and has written for The Wall Street Journal, the San Francisco Chronicle, and other news outlets across the world. Before shifting to journalism, Elissa led communications for aid agencies in the United States, East Africa, and South Asia.
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