Write Hatem Mohamed

A Gap Threatening Africa’s Future
Despite a $3.4 trillion African insurance market, penetration remains at just 2 to 3% across most of the continent. This gap limits Africa’s ability to mobilize investment, support industrialization, facilitate trade, and retain risk and capital within the continent instead of exporting it abroad.

Afreximbank Builds Trade Systems

African Export-Import Bank is building the systems that make trade work through the Pan-African Payment & Settlement System – PAPSS, the African Collaborative Transit Guarantee Scheme, trade credit solutions, AfrexlInsure, and a continental payment repository.

Institutions Before Markets

The future of African trade will depend not only on market access, but on our collective ability to build stronger African institutions, deepen local capacity, and retain more African risk and capital within the continent. This is the real foundation for sustainable growth.

History Will Judge Our Systems

Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President for Intra-African Trade at Afreximbank, concluded that history will judge us not by the agreements we signed, but by the systems we built to support trade, unlock investment, and give African businesses the confidence to move forward.

Cairo Hosts Insurance Future Talks

Kanayo Awani joined leaders from Africa’s insurance, reinsurance, financial services, and regulatory communities at the 52nd Conference of the African Insurance Organisation AIO in Cairo. They discussed the core driver of the continent’s transformation: insurance as a tool for risk management.

No Trade Without Insurance

As the African Continental Free Trade Area AfCFTA moves forward, Africa needs a financial architecture that gives businesses confidence to trade and invest. Insurance is central to that architecture. No economy can trade beyond its risk capacity. If cargo cannot be insured, it does not move. If receivables cannot be covered, they cannot be financed. If investment risks cannot be managed, projects do not reach financial close.

A 1.5 Billion People Opportunity

The opportunity before us is significant. AfCFTA is creating a market of 1.5 billion people with a combined GDP exceeding $3.4 trillion. But turning these numbers into real value requires a strong insurance infrastructure that keeps risk and capital inside Africa.