KAMPALA, 1 December, 2015 – As Uganda readies itself for national elections slated in 2016, senior representatives of the African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI) held a press conference today aimed at alleviating any fears that investors and traders in Uganda may have. To increase its awareness, ATI is also hosting a workshop for banks in Uganda to sensitize the lenders on its product that help to increase credit facilities to small and medium sized companies. The other message ATI intends to deliver to the banks is that they can continue lending with ATI’s insurance support in place.
Since its first transaction in 2004, ATI has helped Uganda attract over UGX 9.5 trillion (US$3billion) in trade and investments. And in the first half of 2015, ATI has facilitated transactions worth over UGX 99 billion (US$30 million) in the country. The company has also paid claims in excess of UGX 3 billion (US$1 million).
ATI provides specialised insurance products to cover political, investment and trade credit risks. The products covers situations that could include companies that may experience difficulty transferring their money or exchanging it into foreign currency, governments or a government agency unfairly seizing a company’s assets, a company that may have difficulty importing required equipment or goods due to trade embargoes and companies that experience delayed payments by government agencies or private buyers. In all these instances, ATI can step in to mitigate the situation. ATI also provides reinsurance support to the Insurance companies by providing capacity for the issuance of political violence, terrorism and sabotage insurance and bonds.
With an ‘A/Stable’ rating from Standard & Poor’s, which is higher than most African countries’ credit ratings, ATI’s products can also act as a substitute for government guarantees, which helps African governments access required capital, goods and services to implement their projects without increasing their national debt.
One of the concrete ways that ATI is helping Uganda maintain its economic strength throughout the election cycle and beyond, is its support for banks. ATI has guaranteed bank loans that have supported an addition of 50 MW of power to the national grid, the construction of a multi-million dollar hotel in Kampala, the construction of roads, a water processing plant and a power generation plant in rural areas of the country. In addition, ATI has also helped the government to import commodities such as petroleum products valued at UGX 99 billion (US$30 million).
Speaking at the press conference, Honourable Fred Omach, State Minister for Finance and ATI’s immediate Annual General Meeting Chair noted that “when ATI was founded in 2001 many investors hesitated to do business in Africa. Uganda was no exception. ATI has changed the game by rewriting the story of African risk as something that is more realistic and tenable than what is often misrepresented in the international media. This has helped Uganda and many other countries to continue attracting investments and supporting increased trade with countries within Africa and abroad.”
Uganda’s current Board member who is also the CEO of Padre Pio Insurance Brokers Ltd. Ms Irene Kego Oloya commented that “it is important to note that while ATI has provided significant support to Ugandan banks by guaranteeing their clients’ bonds and other trade transactions, ATI sees room to extend its cover to project finance and medium-to-long term transactions. This is important for Uganda because this will help us attract much needed financing to projects in capital intensive sectors such as energy and roads construction.”
To date ATI has helped its African member countries attract over UGX 59 trillion (US$18 billion) worth of trade and investments into their economies.
ATI’s Chief Executive Officer Mr George Otieno, ATI’s new Underwriting Representative in Uganda Mr Fredrick Mutua and Benjamin Mugisha, ATI’s previous Underwriting Representative in Uganda also spoke at the press conference.
