NAIROBI, 17 May 2011 – With riots and political unrest in North Africa and the uncertainty of national election outcomes in many countries, political risk in Africa is now a key factor on the minds of investors commented Gabriel Kivuti, a Sr. Consultant with the Canadian-based, International Financial Consulting Group. The company, which specialises in financial services that support trade, investment and development, released a report on its findings of ATI’s impact on African countries and individual companies in the past decade. Most notably, the independent consultant firm notes that ATI is well-placed to take advantage of the expected increase in demand for political risk insurance products as a result of renewed investor uncertainty in Africa.
The release of the Impact Assessment report coincides with the 10th Anniversary of the African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI). The results taken from a series of face-to-face interviews, a web-based questionnaire and other documents of ATI’s stakeholders rates ATI in six different categories with a scoring system that ranges from Unsatisfactory to Excellent. ATI earned a top rating of Excellent in four of the six categories. Significantly, the report indicates ATI’s relevance and efficacy as excellent.
| Parameter | Score |
| Relevance | Excellent |
| Efficacy | Excellent |
| Efficiency | Satisfactory |
| Impact on Regional Trade and Risk Perception | Good |
| Value for Money of ATI Member States | Excellent |
| Partnerships | Excellent |
The report revealed two important facts. First, ATI remains relevant and has proven to be good value for the investments made by its African member countries. Jobs have been created, infrastructure has been revamped and increased export sales into new and existing markets have been realised. Second, ATI has helped stimulate primary and secondary financial markets in its member countries thus facilitating access to credit for exports and investments. “The assessment has also provided ATI with insights that will help to strengthen our brand as we embark on the preparation of our new business strategy” noted Mr. Israel Kamuzora-the Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Over the decade, ATI has grown considerably in terms of business, signing less than 4 policies in the first 2 years compared to over 170 policies in the last three years. Late last year, the Board of Directors allowed the organisation to retain more risk on its books and to pursue larger projects at gross exposure levels of $100 million for political risk insurance and $50 million for commercial risk insurance products – a 33% increase over the previous risk limits.
“ATI is making a difference to African companies and to our member countries which are able to attract more foreign investments with ATI’s backing. As Africa’s strongest trading partners in the Euro zone continue to experience financial instability, the continent will need to remove all possible ‘risk’ obstacles to other investors bringing their money here,” observed Mr. George Otieno-ATI’s CEO.
Armed with positive Impact results, increased risk limits, a reaffirmed investor grade ‘A’ rating from Standard & Poor’s and expansion into five West African countries, ATI is confident of another decade of similar, if not better, growth.
