Congratulations to IFPRI researchers, Ruth Vargas Hill and Miguel Robles, whose proposal, “Using Simple Weather Securities to Insure Rain-Dependent Farmers in Ethiopia,” is among 20 finalists in the 2010 MIF competition.

The competition is intended to foster fresh ideas on how innovative financing mechanisms can be used to better solve development challenges at local, country, regional, or global levels, with the goal that successful innovations can be scaled up and replicated broadly.

The 20 finalists will be invited to present their initiatives at the international Marketplace on Innovative Financial Solutions for Development (2010 MIF), co-hosted by Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Bank, to be held in Paris on March, 4-5 2010. 5 winners will be awarded pilot grants of up to 100,000 USD each to assist them in the implementation of their proposals.