WAICA holds AGM, education confab
By Cherno Omar Bobb
The West African Insurance Companies Association (WAICA), the umbrella body for insurers and reinsurers operating in the West African region recently concluded its Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Education Conference in Banjul.
The event held on the theme – “Building a common insurance market in West Africa: Challenges and Prospects” was held at Coco Ocean Hotel.
The event attracted delegates from Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Liberia, Ghana and The Gambia. The confab seeks to address issues confronting insurance companies in West Africa and requisition it for global competitiveness as well as ensure it realise its full potential and goal globally.
However, WAICA’s aim is to promote cooperation in every respect amongst all the insurers and reinsurers operating in the West African sub-region. Its major aim is to be a facilitator par excellence with the view of working for the improvement of the image of the insurance industry in West Africa and being of beneficial relevance to the members of the association in particular and the insuring community at large.
Welcoming the delegates, Bubacarr Jarju, vice president of WAICA, expressed confidence that they will find the presentations and discussion through, enlightening, provoking and instructive but also propel the insurance community in the sub-region into immediate action to address the challenges confronting them.
He expressed optimism that they will capitalise on the opportunities that present themselves to enhance visibility of the industry, thus encouraging all delegates to participate fully in the deliberations, share their views and professional expertise constructively so that the goal of establishing a common insurance market in West Africa is realised in the near future.
Eddie Efekoha, president of WAICA, expressed appreciation to the government of The Gambia, Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, their previous members and all their partners for their support to insurance development in West Africa and WAICA.
He recalled that over the years, WAICA has provided a platform for them to enhance their knowledge, share business information and network as insurance players in the sub-region.
“I am optimistic that the knowledge you take from the conference will make you better managers that will requisition insurance institutions across the sub-region and make them competitive globally,” he told delegates.
Mamadi Dampha, deputy permanent secretary at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, said a common insurance market in West Africa will lead to important prospects as well as bring about cost saving, among other benefits to the population.
He, however, called on WAICA to work towards circumventing some of its industry’s challenges such as poor public perception of their profession, low financing literacy, among others.
Deputising for the governor of the Central Bank of The Gambia, Pa Alieu Sillah, commissioner of Insurance for The Gambia, acknowledged that insurance being an international business, the harmonisation of its regulations within the sub-region will make it easier for insurance to operate seamlessly in member countries.
He pointed out the need to have an in-depth understanding of the unique business processes within member states in order to harmonise their practices effectively.
To this end, he urged delegates to critically discuss the theme and come up with recommendations for the mutual benefit of all stakeholders.
COB/24/04/24
