33rd Edition – May 2024

I would like to start this message by expressing our sincere gratitude to you all, esteemed clients, business partners and shareholders for the historic milestone of $1billion Premium Income we recently achieved. This has come to consolidate Africa Re’s leadership position as one of the largest reinsurers in Africa and the Middle East.

Our gratitude also goes to the Board of Directors for the infringeable support and to the entire Africa Re Staff for a job well done. The journey has not been a smooth one. Various challenges ranging from a hostile economic landscape marked by depreciation of African currencies, geopolitical tensions, incredibly high inflation, tightening of credit, impact of the sovereign debts of African States on the insurance business, etc . But, despite all the odds, we have made it.

And we are proud to tell our story of how we got there. Please read on page …… about our journey on this historic achievement, in an article titled “ Africa Re in 2023 Achieves the Milestone of Surpassing US$1 billion in Reinsurance Premium Income” by Dr Phocas NYANDWI, Director of Central Operation and Special Risks of Africa Re. The article is an account about Africa Re, as a resilient company, facing, with determination, the constantly challenging business environment and global transformation of the economic and financial landscape.

Our resilience brought us where we are now. We are confident that our ability to adapt to the new trend in the industry will surely take us farther . We are geared up to use the accumulated knowledge and experience in risk management to mitigate emerging risks and the growing offering innovative services to the delight of our clients. 

Africa Re, as required by the new accounting standards, has successfully implemented the IFRS 17 after many long months of hard working and reinvention. The financial statements of the year 2023 have changed in many aspects compared with the ones prepared previously under the IFRS 4 (Insurance Contracts) standard. As an industry leader, we have to foster every efforts towards consistency and transparency in our financial reporting. To know more about the IFRS 9 and IFRS 17 accounting standards, please read on page …..Mr Ibrahim Ibisomi’s article, titled “ IFRS 17 Implementation – The Benefits, Challenges and Their Resolutions.”. A very insightful piece on what IFRS 17 is bringing in the industry as added value. Mr. Ibrahim Ibisomi is a Management Consultant with our subsidiary in South Africa ( ARCSA), and immediate past Executive Director Finance in the same subsidiary.

I would like to say a special thank you to Mr. Kamel Marami, for his very detailed interview in this edition (page ……) where he shared, as a regulator, the experience of the Algerian market for our readers.

This 33rd edition also contains report on the tribute paid by the Francophone insurance industry to our late leader, Mr Bakary Kamara in his hometown, Nouakchott, in Mauritania on 19 February 2024.

In Africa Re we build on the past legacy and keep our focus on the very vision of our founding fathers despite the ocean of new challenges we are facing in the industry. We thank you for your trust and promise to work harder to always deserve it.

Wishing you a pleasant reading.