Insurance professionals from English-speaking countries in West Africa would converge in The Gambia to discuss the implications of the ongoing insurance sector reforms in the sub-region.
It’s the biannual education conference of the West African Insurance Companies Association (WAICA) which would be hosted by the Insurance Association of The Gambia (IAG) from 21 – 22 November 2019.
Molifa Sanneh, secretary general of IAG, said the rotational conference should have been hosted by Nigeria this time but that country is also preparing to host the Africa Insurance Organisation general meeting early next year.
“These two high-level conferences could not be hosted by one country at such short interval,” he said. “Therefore, the Gambian insurance market decided to come in by hosting the WAICA educational conference so Nigeria could focus on the other one.”
The theme of the WAICA conference is ‘Reforms in the insurance landscape in West Africa and their implications for cross-border operations and intra-African trade’.
Mr Sanneh said the theme was chosen cognizant of the ongoing reforms of insurance policies and regulations in the sub-region.
“Some of these reforms would affect the status quo as regards the operations of insurance companies hence the need to discuss the reforms and their implication,” he said.
About 150 delegates are expected to attend the conference from the five WAICA member countries: Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and The Gambia.
The participants would be treated to a welcome cocktail on the eve of the conference, Wednesday, 20th November, courtesy of Central Bank of The Gambia.
The first topic of discussion at the conference is ‘Recent reforms in the insurance landscape in West Africa: the pros and cons’. This would be delivered by Mr Justice Ofori, Commissioner of Insurance, Ghana, and Ms Rachel V. Emenike, managing director and chief executive officer of IGI Plc, Nigeria.
The second day will feature presentation on ‘Mergers, acquisition and cross-border synergies … with specific reference to the insurance industry’. This session would be presented by Mr Donald C. Kaye, managing partner, PKF, The Gambia. The session would be chaired by Gambia’s very own Abdoulie Touray, managing director of Sahel Investment.
On the side line of the conference, WAICA Governing Council meeting will be held, and the meeting of West African Insurance Supervisors Association (WAISA) will also be held.
