The early days of Africa Re The idea of developing a local
insurance and
reinsurance market in
developing countries was born in the early 1970s within international institutions. Only economically mature countries had companies operating in this sector at the time. In
Africa, the obstacles facing the project were numerous, given the continent's lack of human and material resources and its political, economic, cultural and linguistic disparities. It was in this context that Africa Re was established in
Yaoundé (
Cameroon) on 24 February 1976. Its authorized capital of US$15 million was then shared between the
African Development Bank (ADB) and 36 member states of the
Organization of African Unity (OAU). The ambition is to curb the outflow of foreign currency from the continent, mobilize local capital, create a reinsurance market and support African
economic development. The company started its activities in
Accra (
Ghana) before moving, a few months later, to
Lagos (
Nigeria). In 1980, Africa Re opened its first regional office in
Morocco, followed by Kenya (1982) and Côte d'Ivoire (1987).
An eventful start The deteriorating socio-economic and political context of the 1980s and 1990s affected business activity on the continent. The
structural and monetary adjustment plans imposed by the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) threatened companies and weakened the insurance and reinsurance sector. In response to this situation, the
Board of Directors decided in 1990 to increase the capital to US$30 million and to open it to African and foreign companies. Between 1982 and 1993, five other African states, convinced by the project, joined the ranks of State
shareholders, whose number went from 36 to 41.
The development on an African scale The advent of democracy in
South Africa and the country's integration into the
OAU in 1994 marked a fresh beginning for Africa Re. The establishment of a contact office in
Johannesburg in 1995 gave the company access to the most important African insurance market, which remains its main source of business to this day. The “Africa Re House”, the company's new headquarters, was built in 2000 in the commercial district known as
Victoria Island in
Lagos. New premises were also built in
Abidjan in 2001, in
Nairobi in 2003 and in
Casablanca in 2005. The capital was doubled in 2001, reaching US$100 million, to finance the company's development on the continent. To cover Northeast Africa, the
Cairo (
Egypt) office was created in 2001. This became a regional office in 2004 while the
Johannesburg office was established as a
subsidiary in the same year. Between 2004 and 2005, four
financial institutions acquired a 20 percent stake in Africa Re; however, it was only in 2010 that the reinsurer reached its
pan-African dimension. The threefold increase in capital to US$300 million allowed Africa Re to complete its coverage of the continent. In 2010, a
subsidiary was created in Cairo to support the emerging development of
Islamic reinsurance, the new company,
Africa Retakaful, operating mainly in the
MENA region. In 2011, a local office was set up in
Ethiopia in order to strengthen the company's presence in the strategic region of East Africa.
International expansion Segmentation of risks and their dispersion in space are driving the international development of reinsurers. Through its presence in the African market, Africa Re has attracted foreign companies that wanted to gain a foothold in Africa. This is how
IRB Brasil Re became a
shareholder in 2012. This alliance also gave Africa Re operator status in Brazil and the opportunity to expand its operations in
Latin America. The year 2015 marked the entry of two new shareholders,
Axa and
Fairfax Financial Holdings with a stake of 7.15 percent each. In 2018,
Allianz acquired IRB Brasil's 8 percent stake in Africa Re. In 2023, Africa Re's turnover exceeded the billion dollar mark for the first time. == Shareholder's equity and share capital ==