NAIROBI, 10 August 2015 – The African Reinsurance Corporation (Africa Re), which is the leading reinsurance company in Africa, Near and Middle East, has increased its equity stake in the African Trade Insurance Agency (
ATI) by tenfold from its current minimum share option of $100,000 to $1,000,000.
Africa Re’s Group Managing Director and CEO, Corneille Karekezi, noted that their decision was “an expression of the strong conviction we have in the Board, Management and Staff of ATI and its efforts to transform the company. Africa Re remains committed in partnering with ATI in its quest to transform Africa into a prime trade and investment destination.”
Africa Re becomes the second shareholder to increase their stakes in
ATI in the past twelve months. In 2014,
PTA Bank preceded the Pan African reinsurer by also increasing their equity stake to $1million. With this latest increase, ATI’s share capital now stands at $181.4 million. This increase helps ATI build an even greater ability to accept larger risks.
“ATI is undergoing a transformation. Through key partnerships, we are in the process of
significantly ramping up our support of renewable energy projects across Africa. At the same time, we plan to expand into new markets. These initiatives are largely due to the continued support of our partners like Africa Re, who have been standing beside us throughout,” commented George Otieno, ATI’s Chief Executive Officer.
With partnerships that include the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the European Investment Bank and ECOWAS, ATI is looking to expand into West Africa in the coming months. ATI’s Board of Directors also recently gave it the green light to conduct commercial business in non-member countries – a move expected to deepen the company’s foothold in the
trade credit market while helping it diversify to a more stable base of business outside of its traditional strong hold of political risk insurance in member states. This complements ATI’s mandate of developing credit insurance in Africa, which has a nascent market.
“Diversification and market expansion is part of our overall growth strategy. We are optimistic that this will help us not only attract more business, but that it will also make us more appealing to potential investors and new country members,” adds Mr Otieno.
