Generali Central has partnered with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to launch its Insurance Innovation Challenge in India, aiming to develop insurance solutions to enhance resilience and reduce the protection gap among small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
The initiative forms part of the Italian insurer’s broader expansion of MSME-focused programmes across Asia-Pacific, following a similar challenge launched in Thailand in August 2025. Generali Central represents the Generali Group’s general and life insurance businesses in India.
Alok Rungta, Generali Central Life’s MD & CEO, said, “MSMEs are the backbone of India’s economy, yet many remain vulnerable to financial shocks arising from health events, the loss of a key income earner or business disruption.” Generali Central MD and CEO K. G. Krishnamoorthy Rao added that through the partnership with UNDP, the insurer aims to “support solutions that address the real risks facing India’s MSMEs and create models with the potential to scale.”
Generali said, in a press release on Wednesday, that the challenge seeks to address risks facing MSMEs, including health-related events, business interruption and asset loss. The insurer noted that MSMEs play a key role in India’s economy, contributing about 30% of GDP and 44% of exports while employing around 60% of the workforce.
The initiative is open to legally registered insurance providers, insurtechs, technology service providers, social enterprises, and insurance sales and distribution companies in India.
Applications will remain open until 20 November 2026, with up to three winning solutions to be announced in February 2027. Selected projects will receive support to further develop their proposals, with funding of up to US$40,000 available.
The India launch builds on the wider UNDP–Generali partnership to strengthen MSME resilience across Asia.
In an interview, Generali’s APAC chief Rob Leonardi highlighted China and India as key markets for Generali’s next phase of growth in Asia. “Demographically, India is probably the largest and most attractive market in the world”, he added.
Generali’s Asia-Pacific business saw strong premium growth of 27.8% in 2025, and the insurer has roughly quadrupled the size of its Asian portfolio over the past decade, but Leonardi said the business is still building the scale that will underpin its future earnings.
In November 2025, the partnership outlined plans to expand activity beyond Malaysia and Thailand, beginning with India.
