WAICA Re woos Nigerian investors for future capital raise

For the first time, WAICA Reinsurance Corporation Plc (WAICA Re), a West African company is bringing its 2018 Annual General Meeting to Lagos, Nigeria, with expectation to reinforce the confidence of its shareholders in Nigeria,  as well as encourage them to increase their shareholding in the company in future capital raise.

The company, which has as its headquarters Freetown, Sierra Leone with a Nigeria Managing Director, Abiola Ekundayo believes that Nigerian companies who are his critical shareholders could strengthen their holdings, and patronage to make the reinsurance firm a force to reckon with in Africa.

Ekundayo who spoke to journalists at the sideline of the last African Insurance Organisation (AIO) Conference in Accra, Ghana said it’s continuing its capital raise until paid up capital reaches a $100 million.

According to him the Company currently has a paid up capital of about $65 million, having progressed steadily from $12.5 million to $30 million dollars and presently $65 million.

He said the company’s share price currently is over 1.8 to a dollar, adding that by the time the additional share capital is raised the value will be significant.

On performance of the business, he said they have gone beyond Africa progressively, while noting that the company has been able to approach the business of reinsurance globally.

He added that the company has done very well in English West Africa speaking countries, and needed to go beyond Africa for new businesses.

Kofi Duffor, chairman WAICA Re had said that the capitalisation process embarked by the company in 2016, through a Rights Issue, involved the issue of 14,472,816 ordinary shares at $1.52 per share at a ratio of 0.5669 new share for every one existing share held.

 “At the end of the offer, 13,031,190 shares were subscribed valued at $19,807,408.80, representing a success rate of 90 per cent”, said Duffor.

WAICA Reinsurance Corporation Plc is a public limited liability company incorporated under the laws of Sierra Leone (Companies Act 2009) on 7th March 2011.

In the years following the creation of West African Insurance Companies Association (WAICA) in 1973, the founding fathers had the desire to establish a reinsurance organisation to help mitigate the effects of the lack of reinsurance capacity within the West African insurance industry.

To fulfill this ambition, the founding fathers considered it prudent to start off by creating a reinsurance pool which hopefully will someday metamorphose into a fully fledged reinsurance corporation. Today, the WAICA Reinsurance Pool has turned into WAICA Reinsurance Corporation Plc, a dream come true.

There is no gain in saying that there is lack of reinsurance capacity in the West African sub region, which situation is compelling insurance companies to seek reinsurance protection in other parts of the world where the treaties offered are not exactly competitive and/ or affordable and the service sometimes almost non-existent.

To give impetus to the development and realization of the idea of establishing a fully fledged reinsurance institution decision has been reached to locate the headquarters of WAICA Reinsurance Corporation (WAICA Re) in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and to have major operating centres in Accra, Ghana and Lagos, Nigeria.