Page 42 - 33 edition GAIF Post-Conference July 2022

Dr. Corneille Karekezi

(Group Managing Director / CEO Africa Re):

We are a prudent industry so we
penetrate any market slowly
and cautiously

ince its establishment, Africa Re has anticipated change and shaped it to fit its pur-
Sposes. It is a transparent, honest and ethical company in all its interactions with
shareholders, partners, employees, clients, consumers, vendors and the general pub-
lic. It operates in a spirit of cooperation and value human dignity and places a pre-
mium on competence, knowledge, resourcefulness, quality, attitude, and cooperation
related to how it provides its professional services. Dr. Corneille Karekezi, Group
Managing Director/CEO of Africa Re participated along with several of his colleagues
at the 33rd GAIF General Conference held in Oran, Algeria.Al Bayan Magazine met
Dr. Karekezi on the sidelines of the event and conducted the following interview.

• The discussions in the confer- We will not be very aggres-
ence concentrated on cybersecu- sive but cautious & growing
rity, pandemics, epidemics and profitably without rushing
climate change. What is your
comment?
• After your success in the Middle
- The GAIF is always a good East & Africa, do you have any
opportunity for professionals of expansion plans in the near
the industry, brokers, insurers and future?
reinsurers to meet and shed light - In our pipeline, we are planning to
expand in southwest Asia and
on where our industry is going,
probably it will be opening an office
what we can do better especially
in Singapore, we are already writ-
that the major target of our indus- ing businesses from that territory
try is to relief the pain of our com- including China but we want to
, Dr CORNEILLE KAREKEZY ,ô≤°U ∫ɪL :ø«ª«dG øe ô¡¶jh A FRICA RE ¿ÉcQCG
munities when they are facing increase our presence and to bring
Ú°SÉj »ÑjQ’h ∫ƒ∏ZR ~©°S ~ªëe
risks, destruction and threats. We our services close to those markets.
have discussed all the major risks and pandemic of course is in the We are a prudent industry so we expand and penetrate the market
air, the disruptions of Covid-19 are still felt and the climate change is slowly because it is not a good strategy to grab businesses which have
been refused by others. We tend to build partnerships and relation-
a huge topic which will affect the mankind in the coming years. The
ships, understand the risks and have a certain experience so it takes
Mena region will be the most hit by the temperature where it will
around three years to fully understand any region by being present. We
increase by 4+percent by 2050, in addition to all the other threats that
will not be very aggressive but cautious & growing profitably without
are coming with the digital transformation. On the other hand, we dis- rushing.
cussed many other good things like opportunities, how to enhance the
• What are your latest realizations?
digital technology and how to benefit from all the innovations which
- We are always reviewing our offerings and the needs of the clients.
can be used in our industry to improve risk management and reduce Concerning cyber risk, we are working with a provider of services
cost, to access more clients, improve our services so there are a lot based in the US who may extend to us services which are meant to
of possibilities and the future is bright if we can all as insurers, rein- assess and survey a given risk whether an enterprise, company,
surers, regulators and legislators can put in place a vabriant industry bank, telecom, industry or any entity. There are ways of assessing
cyber risk of an entity online where you can check your licenses,
which is working in synchronization
securities, firewalls, and map the
together with the technological
traffic of people who are visiting
advancement we have today, then the website and buying from the
we can improve a lot including in pric- platform as well as people who are
ing & risk assessment. Thus, we are sending emails. By looking at that
universe, this helps us understand
benefitting from our presence here
the risk that we are underwriting
by learning from the views of others
and which price we can put.
which improve and refine my view as
We are also working on Nat Cat a
well as meeting our customers and parametric way of pricing and it is
discussing businesses and looking at at a national level where we are
how we can improve our exchange of working with countries in Africa
businesses. CAA T h A FRICA RE ´ÉªàLEG who want to create a Nat Cat pool.
2022 (ƒ«dƒj) Rƒ“ - 608 O~©dG - ájOÉ°üàb’G ¿É«ÑdG 42