Africa-Press – Namibia. The Namibia National Reinsurance (Namibre) managing director and former president of the African Insurance Organisation (AIO), Patty Karuaihe-Martin, has stressed the need for the African insurance industry to collaborate and implement platforms that see open dialogue.
Karuaihe-Martin spoke at an AfrexInsure event in Abuja, Nigeria, on the sidelines of the 2025 32nd Annual Meetings of the African Export and Import Bank (Afreximbank) on Wednesday.
The topic for the side event is ‘Enhancing Regulatory Harmonisation in African Insurance Markets: The Role of Regulators and Multilateral Institutions’.
The Namibre boss, who also called for reinsurance regulators to support the insurance market, said it is important to harmonise the insurance sector in Africa, whereas the implementation phase should follow. The insurance sectors can also endorse regulatory reforms that promote market stability, consumer protection and cross-border trade.
“So the partnerships will begin with open dialogue, creating platforms for regular communications where the industry players and regulators can exchange insights and solutions. You will agree with me when we want to harmonise all of the rest of the African continent. We will have to look at all the players,” Karuaihe-Martin noted.
She added it is important to start with the regulator, the private sector, and most importantly, the different governments when looking at the changes that need to be made.
“If you look at the complete ecosystem, we need to work together. And all these players, we normally come together through our interventions, which is the AIO and many other of these interventions. So we should definitely participate in regulatory drafting processes, offer technical expertise and pilot harmonisation projects that serve as proof of concept,” she said.
The former AIO president added that leveraging technology and data sharing platforms can support compliance and streamline cross-border operations. She added that collaboration should ultimately be rooted in mutual trust and shared goals of financial inclusion, stability and growth.
Karuaihe-Martin reiterated that the private sector plays a critical advocacy role by providing expert insights, sharing of data and demonstrating innovative practices that highlight the benefit of harmonised regulations.
Afreximbank, AfrexInsure’s chief executive, and principal officer Jonas Mushosho says the continent needs to build capacity in terms of the insurance sector to become more competitive on the global front.
“We can do things that are transformative and move Africa forward in the industry. AfrexInsure, wants to support and collaborate with other players to design and develop Africa focused solutions,” the chief executive noted.
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