Africa’s largest homegrown reinsurance company is positioning itself for a new phase of continental expansion after growing into a $1.4 billion equity institution over five decades, as it inaugurated a new corporate headquarters in Abuja and outlined a strategy to deepen Africa’s financial resilience.
The milestone came as the African Reinsurance Corporation (Africa Re) celebrated its 50th anniversary with regulators, finance ministers, development finance institutions, and insurance executives from across Africa, using the occasion to reinforce the role of African-owned capital in reducing the continent’s dependence on foreign reinsurance markets.
From an authorised capital of just $15 million when it was established in Yaoundé, Cameroon, in 1976 by 36 African countries and the African Development Bank (AfDB), Africa Re has grown into one of the world’s top 40 reinsurance groups, with shareholders’ equity of $1.4 billion and ‘A’ financial strength ratings from AM Best and S&P Global.
The celebrations, held under the theme “Reinsurance Excellence, Securing the Future,” also featured the commissioning of the corporation’s new 11-storey Grade A headquarters in Abuja, signalling what executives described as a long-term commitment to Nigeria and the African insurance industry.
