We Will Transform Africa’s Insurance and Reinsurance Industry— Ekundayo
Mr Eezekil Abiola Ekundayo is Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer. WAICA Reinsurance Corporation (WAICA-Re) Plc, a leading provider of reinsurance to the African market and beyond. In this exclusive interview with Kelechi Deca, the hard-working and resourceful, experienced practitioner says going from strength to strength. Excerpts:
How would you describe the insurance industry in Sierra Leone?
Evolving. It is making good progress though not as rapid as we expected. We are hopeful that the regulatory body and the industry operators will continue to cooperate and develop skills and capacity to further push the boundaries of growth forward.
To what extent would you say the Sierra Leone government’s efforts at financial inclusion are positively impacting on the insurance industry?
Financial inclusion is a marathon and not a sprint. So, we would expect small gains at the beginning that grows with time and commitment of resources. What is important is that the government is making efforts in the right direction and the insurance industry as a risk transfer and sharing mechanism is a part and parcel of this financial inclusion, which is getting the uninsured populace to become insured.
WAICA-Re recently restructured and embarked on international expansion into East and Southern Africa, with plans to venture into Asia. What informed this decision?
Insurance is about spreading of risk and we are just doing what we are engineered to do — reinsurance — being an international business in nature. These strategic moves are part of our corporate vision in creating reinsurance networks across Africa and becoming a leading re-insurer of choice in Africa. Africa is a big market and boasts emerging economies and we must position ourselves to harness these opportunities, whilst also contributing immensely to the economies we operate.
Your capital increase is to strategically position the corporation to underwrite larger businesses. What more should the market expect from WAICA-Re in the nearest future?
WAICA Re is still evolving; reinsurance is not just only in providing capacity, but we have huge investments in developing capacities in Africa in the areas of oil and gas, energy, aviation, marine, agriculture, risk management and other sectors as well. We see WAICA Re becoming domesticated by choice not only in West African countries but also in the whole of Africa and beyond.
What are the challenges facing insurance and reinsurance industry in Africa?
We must be proactive, leverage on technology and continue to innovate. Innovate products that are family-friendly, leverage on the technology that everyone uses to distribute our products and then continue to innovate so that our services, products and skills are comparable with those in advanced economies. In addition, we must embrace professionalism and adequate capitalization to stand the test of time.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.