East African Insurer Prioritizing Innovation And Strategic Partnerships On The Road To Growth

Published 1 month ago
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Manuel Moses commenced his role as the Chief Executive Officer of The African Trade and Investment Development Insurance’s (ATIDI) on December 1, 2020. He has over 25 years of experience in finance, banking, insurance, and investment at the international level.

Q. The African Trade and Investment Development Insurance’s 24th Annual General Meetings (AGM) was held in Zambia this year. Please share the highlights of this Pan-African event in line with the theme, “Empowering tomorrow, Enabling investment”.

A. Our AGM validated our results for 2023 and allowed us to bring together key government representatives, policy makers and investors to reflect on the event’s theme, which is aligned with Africa’s main development constraint: accessing capital to fund our continent’s development. In 2021, Africa received only 3.5% of global Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows, the lowest among the six continents, despite ample investment opportunities. Through extremely rich panels, deliberations identified ways and opportunities of addressing this challenge. Leveraging ATIDI’s unique de-risking solutions was one of them.

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Q. Tell us more about ATIDI’s 2023 results, highlighting the positives despite significant geopolitical and economic challenges globally and in Africa.

A. 2023 was ATIDI’s best year since inception. Here are a few highlights:

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  • Our profit for the year increased by 205% to US$69.1 million;
  • Our insurance revenue grew by 14% to US$155.7 million;
  • Our gross exposures grew by 19% to US$9.6 billion;
  • Our total assets grew by 27% to US$837.1 million;
  • Our equity grew by 25% to US$699 million; and
  • We declared a US$17.3 million dividend.

Our record performance is all the more outstanding as it comes in a period marked by uncertainties, slow global economic recovery, tight financial conditions and geopolitical tensions.

Q. Briefly describe the corporate strategic plan for the 2023-2027 period, which seems to be geared at optimizing the organization’s governance processes and performance to strengthen its developmental impact for ATIDI.

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A. Our 2023-2027 corporate strategic plan is indeed ambitious. Its core pillars are product innovation, increasing our equity, our capital and our number of member states and institutional shareholders, optimizing our internal processes and corporate governance to optimize our efficiency, and strengthening our strategic partnerships and our stakeholder engagement. These are set to strengthen our status as the premier Pan-African risk mitigation institution, catalyzing the transformation of Africa into a prime destination for trade and investment.

Q. Has the re-branding of ATIDI in Africa increased your footprint on the continent? What is the current membership in numbers and are there any new countries in this period?

A. Our new brand better reflects our stature as one of Africa’s highest-rated financial institutions and most important multilaterals. As for our membership, ATIDI has grown from seven member states in 2001 at its creation, to 24 member states and 13 institutional shareholders today.  In 2023, Angola and Mali became member states in the organization, while Japan’s Export Credit Agency, the Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI), joined ATIDI as an institutional shareholder. More recently, in early 2024, Burkina Faso and Chad became the latest joining member states in the organization.

Q. ATIDI’s net profit for the financial year ended December 2023 tripled on an increased uptake of the insurer’s political and credit risk products on the continent. Describe this success.

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A. ATIDI notably achieved a net profit of US$69.1 million in 2023, representing a 205% year-on-year increase. This growth was driven by a strong deal flow, which resulted in significant new deals and renewals from ATIDI member states. Consequently, gross exposure grew by 18.6% to US$9.6 billion, up from US$8.1 billion the previous year.

Insurance revenue rose by 14% to US$155.7 million, with new deals contributing US$95.4 million. This success underscores ATIDI’s commitment to promoting trade and investment across its member states.

The more we grow our membership, the more we can engage and have impact. Our goal is to one day count each African country as a member of ATIDI. Imagine how much more of an impact we can have then.

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