The forum focused on the role of the private sector in realising the African Union's Agenda 2063, titled “The Africa We Want” and recently recalibrated to “The Africa We Build” by some participants who emphasised today’s actions. The statement of Africa Re’s CEO at the panel session focused on People, Resilience and Sustainable Growth. The session explored ways to capitalise on Africa’s resources to build productive capacity, create jobs, and enhance competitiveness.

In his remarks, Dr. Corneille Karekezi emphasized the role of insurance in mobilizing capital, providing guarantees and de-risking investments in Africa focusing on progress, challenges and the way forward for the continent. He said: “The insurance sector is an underutilised lever of growth, seeing the impact the industry commands in emerging Asia and other advanced economies. It is recommended that policymakers give the sector the chance to grow and thrive as it has an untapped potential to unlock domestic capital and also derisk investments, which the continent desperately needs”.

He highlighted the industry's low impact relative to its potential compared with other advanced economies, and noted that South Africa is a shining light on the continent, having de-risked infrastructure investments and mobilised long-term capital to support its economic development. He illustrated his views using the insurance premium as a percentage of GDP, known as the insurance penetration rate, which is about 12% in South Africa, compared with an average of 2% for the rest of the continent, which he described as significantly low.