Nigeria: IGI Reinstates Commitment To Africa

The Executive Vice Chairman of Industrial and General Insurance Plc (IGI), Mr. Remi Olowude, OON, has restated the company’s total commitment to strengthening its leadership position in Nigeria and in growing its business through strategic, long-term investments throughout Africa.

“Since we launched our African Expansion programme in 2005, we have established a strong foothold in a number of East and West African countries and are looking at prospects in other areas that qualify as safe investment destinations and in projects which meet our minimum risk acceptance criteria,” Olowude said in Lagos.

“Our strategy is to become a continental enterprise, one with the scope and economies of scale necessary to serve the financial and risk management requirements of our clients, many of whom trade not just in domestic markets, but regionally and throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.”

He explained that IGI was encouraged to embark on the African Expansion Programme long before its competitors did because the company identified enormous opportunity for business growth, given the favourable economic policies adopted by the governments of those countries and by the incentives provided to attract foreign direct investment.

“We believe in Africa, thus our expansion programme was built on the platform of expanding the frontiers of business in the continent and bringing IGI’s expertise to positively affect the lives of people while contributing to the development of their economies,” the Executive Vice Chairman said.

“The fundamentals of the IGI business model are sound and have yielded specific value to our shareholders. The company has paid dividends for 14 consecutive years and we believe our expansion into select markets in Africa will generate increased value for our customers and shareholders, while providing opportunities for the company to increase the value of our greatest asset, our human capital.”

It is also part of the IGI strategy to foster strong relationships with Government, private sector, and civil society in the countries where the company does business. These relationships enable IGI to fully implement its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives and serve our communities as a productive corporate citizen.

For example, IGI recently served as a major sponsor of the 1st East African Investment Conference in Kigali, Rwanda in June, 2008. Not only was this done to support the trade and investment objectives of the East Africa Community, but also to demonstrate IGI’s commitment as a long-term investor and partner in East Africa.

“Returns on investment are higher in some of these countries than in other countries at similar levels of development. Economic and social infrastructures are also better while the cost of doing business is generally lower,” he explained, stressing, “The positive results that we have achieved in East and West Africa in particular has reinforced our belief that the African continent has a very bright future.”

“Where other individuals and organisations see chaos and strife, IGI sees opportunity because there is no economy that is completely insulated from civil conflicts; so we have no reason to withdraw from those African countries,” Olowude said.

He said that the IGI business plan calls for the company to establish its operations in ten (10) African countries within the next five (5) years. To date, IGI has established subsidiaries and affiliated companies in Ghana, The Gambia, Rwanda, and Uganda, and is actively exploring investment opportunities in Angola, Kenya, and Tanzania. While this expansion is essential and complementary to the projected growth in company revenue and profit, the company’s core market is and will continue to be Nigeria, accounting for up to 80% of IGI’s business.

It will be recalled that IGI, Nigeria’s leading insurance group, last week reported a Profit before Taxation of N2.70 billion in its financial year ended 31st December 2007. This represents an increase of 117 percent over the 2006 figures of N975.64 million. Underwriting Profit also increased by 88 percent, from N1.12 billion in 2006 to N2.10 billion in 2007 while Investment and Other Income grew by 148 percent to N2.62 billion in 2007 from N1.06 billion recorded in 2006.

The results also showed that Shareholders Funds increased from N7.45 billion in 2006 to N26.30 billion in 2007, representing an increase of 253 percent. The company’s investment portfolio increased by 147 percent in 2007 to N23.52 billion from N9.52 billion in 2006. Total assets also recorded 131 percent increase from N14.75 billion in 2006 to N34.04 billion in 2007.

“The strength of IGI’s financial results is evidence that our business model has been carefully crafted to enable the company to grow our business in Nigeria while strategically entering new markets in Africa. Growing our business in Africa perfectly complements our growth strategy in Nigeria and has increased value to our customers and stakeholders,” Olowude explained. “Further, our strategy for Africa is fully consistent with the call for increased trade and investment between African private sector enterprises as made by the New Partnership for Africa’s Development as well as all regional economic communities, without exception.”

Industrial And General Insurance Plc (IGI) is a proudly Nigerian, globally focused and largest privately-owned insurance company in West Africa. IGI has demonstrated outstanding competence and expertise in the underwriting of specialised risks in Oil & Energy, Marine, Aviation, Engineering and Industrial Risk Management.

With over 35 offices across Nigeria and liaison offices in London and Washington, DC, IGI has become the preferred insurer for individual and corporate clients seeking premium insurance and related financial services.

IGI has a diversified investment profile that includes ownership and majority equity holding in companies engaged in telecommunications, mortgage banking, aviation, oil and engineering services, forestry and healthcare delivery services in Nigeria as well as in the East and West African sub-regions.

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