Wrapping up

We've had a number of good wrap-up meetings today, and interest is still strong.  We have also been invited to return to Addis in May to present to the association of Ethiopian microfinance institutions in hopes of jump starting the scale up of this model across the country... and also met with a representative that will be taking part in the climate change negotiations this December in Copenhagen (aimed to develop a follow-on treaty to the Kyoto Protocol) - that will be lobbying for up to a $10B/yr fund to be spent on risk transfer/risk reduction for climate change adaptation in developing countries.  He said that in his view, our project is the best one in the world right now for how to do that, using weather index insurance in a holistic way - and if we're successful during the pilot phase this summer in Tigray, that he would push to have our model replicated across the world as an example of best practice.  Exciting stuff!

So now, our only remaining task is the high level roundtable tomorrow with the insurance company CEO, a representative from the national bank of Ethiopia, and a few other big wigs - to get their final buy-in for this year and start the visioning process for next year.  Marjorie wants me to get a massage and relax... but there's still a lot of work to do!  Only 32 hours till my flight!