Gallagher Re & Africa Re partner to tackle Africa’s protection gap

Regional drought conditions and the global political environment require prompt action and at-scale implementation plans, particularly as Africa is heavily relying on wheat imports from Russia and Ukraine.

To this end, Gallagher Re and Africa Re are joining forces to strengthen the financial resilience of African countries against a broad range of climate, crisis and disaster risks.

Dr. Corneille Karekezi, Group MD & CEO of Africa Re, said:

“Africa is already bearing the brunt of climate change – and the threat of global, interconnected shocks further jeopardises hard-won development gains and livelihoods on the continent.

”In line with our 2022-2025 strategy, this ambitious initiative aims to leverage private sector and governments’ expertise and capabilities for improved resilience and financial protection.

”It will also contribute to re-positioning Africa Re as the risk transformer of the African continent’s systemic risks. To achieve such strategic objective requires large-scale solutions and top-notch expertise, and we are extremely pleased to be teaming up with Gallagher Re in that respect.”

Prioritising climate resilience

The initiative aims to address a wide range of threats and to protect both assets and liabilities and brings together public and private sectors to deliver customised, at-scale financial resilience solutions across Africa.

It includes risk transfer solutions to financing emergency response costs in the aftermath of a crisis, national insurance schemes for agriculture and crop, as well as weather derivatives and parametric products for public infrastructure, energy or tourism sectors.

Solutions are customised to countries’ needs and priorities and will focus on existing resources and domestic capacity, complemented where relevant with third-party capital. The plans will be presented during an event on 26 July 2022 in Cairo, Egypt. 

Antoine Bavandi, global head of Public Sector, Parametric & Climate Resilience Solutions at Gallagher Re, added: “We will be putting to work our expertise in various domains to come up with the most practical and cost-efficient solutions to various risks, exposures and country contexts.

”We look forward to laying out together the various building blocks of societal and financial resilience against drought, food insecurity and emerging risks in Africa with a deep sense of urgency.”

Natalie Van de Coolwijk, regional director, Middle East & Africa at Gallagher Re, added: “Economic resilience is of critical importance to our continent, particularly in the wake of a rapidly changing risk landscape.

”It is important that this project is designed and driven by Africans for Africans, hence why Africa Re is central to its success. They not only have a vested social interest, but also a fundamental understanding of the challenges facing the continent and its citizens.”