Experts meeting in Casablanca earlier this month called for regulatory convergence to strengthen the African insurance market, particularly within the framework of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
During a panel discussion entitled “How far can the integration of the insurance sector go under the AfCFTA?”, held as part of the Africa Financial Summit (AFIS-2024), the speakers said that the fragmentation of regulatory frameworks in Africa remains a major obstacle to the unification of the market, reported African Press Agency.
The president of the Insurance and Social Security Supervisory Authority (ACAPS), Mr Abderrahim Chaffai, who was a panel speaker at the Summit, stressed the need to create a single African insurance market, proposing categorisation based on the level of development of legal frameworks, solvency and consumer protection.
Ms Ouafae Mriouah, director-general of the Central Reinsurance Company (SCR), said that the AfCFTA constitutes an opportunity to overcome current challenges. She called for a gradual harmonisation of regulations, with transition periods adapted to the least developed countries and technical support.
On his part, Mr Kenneth S Matomola, director-general of the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority, proposed that harmonisation should begin within existing regional groupings before being extended to the continent.
Held for the first time in Morocco, AFIS-2024 was held under the theme “The time for African financial powers has come”, bringing together private-sector leaders and government representatives to discuss strategies to make African finance a lever for economic growth and resilience.