New technology does not equal technology adoption. There are often economic constraints to technology adoption that include credit and insurance, for example. How can we relax those constraints? 

Relaxing risk and capital constraints with insurance has led to the adoption of “better” technologies in Mali's cotton industry and the maize industry in Ghana. Insurance protects both current and future assets. Index-based livestock insurance (IBLI) in Kenya has been shown to protect assets and to smooth consumption. Insurance also creates incentives for productive asset accumulation over time, which can alter poverty dynamics.

This presentation took place at the Annual Innovation Lab Council Partners Workshop in Kathmandu, Nepal on March 10-11, 2014.