African Trade Insurance Agency

Manuel Moses Appointed New CEO African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI)

August 19, 2020

Chief executive officer (CEO) African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI), Mr. Manuel Moses

As the African insurance market grows, especially with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on businesses, the African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI) has commenced a management reshuffling aimed at expansion and embracing innovation. This informed the recent approval by the Board of Directors for a few changes within the Management team starting with the appointment of a new chief executive officer (CEO) in the person of Mr. Manuel Moses. Mr Moses is a veteran of the International Financial Corporation, an arm of the World Bank Group. The new CEO will assume office on 1 November, 2020 but in the interim, Ms. Toavina Ramamonjiarisoa, ATI’s Chief Financial Officer, will fill the position of Acting CEO; Mr. Benjamin Mugisha has been confirmed as the substantive Chief Underwriting Officer (CUO). Mr. Mugisha, a Senior Underwriter, who joined ATI in 2010, has been Acting CUO for the past year; The Board paid tribute to Mr. Cyprien Sakubu’s dedication during his 19 years of service on the occasion of his retirement. Cyprien Sakubu’s most recent role was General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. The African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI) has confirmed key Senior-level positions that will play an important role in steering critical support to member governments.

During its recently concluded virtual 20th annual meeting, ATI’s shareholders ratified the appointment of Mr. Manuel Moses as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) based on the Board’s recommendation. Mr. Moses is a Zimbabwean national, who brings 15 years of experience from the IFC, where he most recently held the post of Country Manager of Kenya. He holds an MBA from the University of Leicester in the UK and a BSc in Civil Engineering from the University of Zimbabwe. Mr. Moses will assume office on 1 November, 2020.

In the interim, the Board of Directors has placed ATI in very capable hands with Ms. Toavina Ramamonjiarisoa, the Chief Finance Officer (CFO) taking the reins as Acting CEO. Ms. Ramamonjiarisoa has been an integral part of ATI’s management team since she was appointed CFO in 2011, where, in this position, she has helped guide the institution towards its current eight-year record-setting growth rates along with ensuring maintenance of ATI’s investment grade ratings from both S&P and Moody’s (A/Stable and A3/Stable respectively). While Ms. Ramamonjiarisoa is Acting CEO, Mr. Rodgers Siachitema has been approved as the Acting CFO.

ATI’s business operations also received a boost with the appointment of Mr. Benjamin Mugisha as the substantive Chief Underwriting Officer (CUO). Mr. Mugisha, who has been the Acting CUO for one year brings considerable experience to the position. He joined ATI in 2010 and has served various functions including as ATI’s Uganda Representative, where he was responsible for field offices in Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda; and, subsequently as Senior Underwriter, where he managed ATI’s day-to-day business and a portfolio of international financial partners.

The Board also recognized the substantial contribution and 19 years of service to ATI by Mr. Cyprien Sakubu, the General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, who has recently retired from the institution. The Board has constituted a special committee to oversee the recruitment of a new General Counsel and in the interim, Ms. Elizabeth Mutafungwa, the current Legal Expert, has been appointed Acting General Counsel.

ATI is increasingly recognized by the IMF, S&P, Moody’s and others as a strategic development institution for Africa that is well-positioned to provide effective support to its member governments through the pandemic. Specifically, with the support of ATI, governments are able to manage their growing debt levels by re-profiling their costlier and riskier debts and replacing them with longer-term, cheaper debts from international commercial lenders. ATI is currently insuring 1 to 2 percent of the GDP of its member countries and is expected to facilitate US$2 billion of additional investments to the continent in the next 12 to 24 months.

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

Nigeria Formerly Joins African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI)

August 13, 2020

Nigerian has formerly become a member of the African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI) a pan African institution founded in 2001 by African States to cover the trade and investment risks of companies doing business in Africa. The ATI predominantly provides Political Risk, Credit Insurance and, Surety Insurance and in 2019, it closed the year with exposures of US$6.4 billion and continued to post record results for the eighth consecutive year with 132% growth on the net profit over 2018 owing to strong demand for ATI’s insurance solutions from the international financial sector and from African governments. Membership in ATI provides African countries with additional trade and investment insurance capacity, which helps cushion against the negative economic impacts of COVID-19. With this development, Nigeria will attract additional insurance capacity to help attract investments.

Nigeria contributed US$14.1 million to ATI’s capital in 2019 with African Development Bank’s (AfDB) financial support and fully completed its membership process through the ratification of the ATI’s Treaty. ATI expects an estimated US$138 million in additional capital from prospective new shareholders in the coming months.

The signing of the instrument of ratification to the African Trade Insurance Agency’s (ATI) treaty by President Muhammadu Buhari which took place earlier this week finalized Nigeria’s membership in ATI in a process that began some years ago. Membership in ATI allows Nigeria to attract additional insurance capacity to help attract investments and it also increases ATI’s capacity to support sovereign and commercial transactions in the country. Ultimately, Nigeria benefits because effective risk mitigation is vital to increasing investments and trade flows.

Nigeria’s membership comes at a critical time for the economy as a sharp drop in oil prices due to a COVID-related one-third decrease in demand, has impacted the country’s spending plans. The IMF predicts that falling oil prices will halve Nigeria’s export earnings to US$26 billion, which traditionally accounts for 90% of the government’s budget.ATI is well positioned to support African countries through the pandemic. In the last three years, ATI has helped crowd-in nearly US$3 billion of investments to several African countries. With ATI’s sovereign and sub-sovereign credit wrap solutions, governments and state owned enterprises have been able to obtain competitively priced and longer-term financing.

In Nigeria, ATI has already provided significant support in the country’s oil and gas sector covering oil traders as well as in the financial sector insuring financial institutions. According to Benjamin Mugisha, ATI’s Chief Underwriting Officer, “as one of the largest economies in Africa with a vibrant private sector, ATI looks forward to working with the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank, local financial institutions and corporate traders to support Nigeria’s economic diversification plans and its post-COVID recover.”

As an important strategic partner, the African Development Bank (AfDB) has played a significant role in funding the membership participation of several African countries. Between 2010 and 2020, AfDB has provided US$70 million to fund the shareholding of seven African governments – Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Mali, Nigeria, South Sudan and Zimbabwe. In the coming months, five countries are expected to become fully-fledged members while an existing member state indicated its intention to increase its capital contribution. These countries will cumulatively benefit from US$91 million in financial support from the African Development Bank and the European Investment Bank, which is ATI’s other strategic partner.

Furthermore, the recently held General Meeting approved three new membership applications worth US$47 million, demonstrating ATI’s ability to mobilize international support to implement its development mandate and support African countries’ economic recovery from the COVID-19 global pandemic. Since inception, ATI has supported US$62 billion worth of investments and trade into Africa. And for over a decade, ATI has maintained an ‘A/Stable’ rating for Financial Strength and Counterparty Credit by Standard & Poor’s, and in 2019, ATI obtained an A3/Stable rating from Moody’s.

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

Rating Highlights African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI)’s ‘Policy Importance’ to the Region

May 2, 2020

The recent results from the S&P rating of the African Trade Insurance shows the firms is projected to maintain its ‘policy importance’ to Africa despite COVID-19 related economic challenges in the region. Rationale for the rating included: robust equity growth to US$349 million; strong top-line growth in 2019 posting a 70% increase in the Gross Written Premium over 2018 and a 134% increase in the Net Profit; and significant expansion in the shareholder base leading to a record US$6.4 billion Gross Exposure.

The report also noted ATI’s ‘solid record of preferred creditor treatment’ having fully recovered all outstanding sovereign obligation claims from previous years. Sound enterprise risk management practices, strengthened by strategic hires such as a Chief Risk Officer in February 2020 were also cited as key factors supporting ATI’s rating result.

S&P Global Rating published its annual assessment of the African Trade Insurance Agency’s (ATI) performance reaffirming the company’s creditor rating of ‘A’ with a Stable Outlook (A/Stable) and noting ATI’s ‘policy importance’ to the region. This is ATI’s 13th annual S&P rating, which has remained consistent despite occasional economic downturns and instability in the past decade and now in the current COVID-19 pandemic. ATI’s continued strength was attributed to several factors including its demonstrated preferred creditor status, which is seen as a key factor in the company’s ability to weather the expected negative impacts of COVID-19. Specifically, S&P noted “Even amid weakening economic fundamentals in the region following the outbreak of COVID-19, we expect that ATI’s members will uphold ATI’s preferred creditor status, recovering any payouts on noncommercial claims.”

S&P also indicated that this rating outlook factors in the difficulties facing the countries ATI operates in during the Coronavirus pandemic, and assessed that ATI remains capable of weathering the effects of a difficult period ahead particularly during 2020. ATI’s increased market penetration and tremendous membership growth was also cited as noteworthy. In the past three years ATI has attracted a record seven new member countries of Ethiopia, Côte d’Ivoire, South Sudan, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Nigeria, and Niger in addition to an investment from Chubb – the world’s largest global property and casualty insurer and from the Indian Government, through the Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC), representing the first non-African sovereign shareholder.

This growth contributed to ATI’s record US$6.4 billion Gross Exposure, a 35% increase over 2018. These achievements served to cement S&P’s “view of ATI’s strong policy importance” as stated in the report. ATI’s “sufficient and appropriate” risk management framework was also seen as vital to its growth and success. In particular, S&P highlighted the board and management’s continued support of the integration and enhancements to ATI’s credit risk framework, which resulted in the efficient management of the company’s maximum net exposure remaining at “well below 5x equity from the current formally approved 6x to 8x band.” ATI’s current net exposure stands at 3.1x equity. The report specifically mentioned the importance of ATI’s plans to “hire key personnel to support its risk-management capabilities in line with its growth trajectory” most notably, the appointment of Deepak Dave as Chief Risk Officer in February 2020 and the expected appointment of a new CEO in mid-2020.

Speaking on the development, John Lentaigne, Acting CEO of ATI said that “this report from S&P affirming ATI’s rating amidst such an unprecedented market turbulence, supports our recent statements to the financial markets about our capacity and institutional commitment to stay the course and help our African member countries through the anticipated COVID-19 storm. ATI’s standing as an important partner for other Development Finance Institutions, global and regional financial sector institutions, and African governments are, to my mind, imperative to our ability to help ensure that investments and trade continue to flow in the region particularly during the current pandemic.”

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

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Tag: African Trade Insurance Agency

Manuel Moses Appointed New CEO African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI)

Kelechi Deca

Nigeria Formerly Joins African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI)

Kelechi Deca

Rating Highlights African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI)’s ‘Policy Importance’ to the Region