(Business in Cameroon) - Cameroonian insurance company Activa is officially opening a branch in the Democratic Republic of Congo on May 27, Atlas Magazine revealed.
This move makes Activa the very first foreign insurer that obtained the Congolese regulator’s green light after the sector was liberalized in the country and the insurance local market open to foreign capital. Approval was granted March 28, 2019.
Newcomers on the Congolese insurance market also include Rawsur SA and Rawsur Life, both subsidiaries of Congolese Rawbank, and the Financial Insurance Corporation of Congo along with brokers Gras Savoye and Allied Insurance Brokers Sarl that also obtained approval March 28.
Being Cameroon’s third largest non-life insurer in 2016, with a turnover of XAF17.7 billion (Finance ministry), Activa aims for expansion across sub-Saharan Africa. It is already present in Ghana, Guinea Conakry, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
The company was created in 1998 by Cameroonian Richard Lowé who is the biggest shareholder. It benefits from the expertise of international lenders such as Proparco and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), respectively subsidiaries of the French Development Agency (AFD) and the World Bank dedicated to private investment; both of which hold interest in Activa.
Brice R. Mbodiam