The much anticipated Organisation of Eastern and Southern Africa Insurers’ 37th Annual Conference started in Gaborone on Monday with various speakers calling for the continent to work towards addressing trade challenges.

Lawrence Nazare, Chairman of OESAI said at the start of the conference that the insurance industry should be at the forefront of transformation taking place in the continent including the proposed establishment of giant Free Trade Area of three regional trading blocs.

The Tripartite FTA will be a result of coming together of Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), East African Community (EAC) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the creation of a huge market with a GDP of US$ 800 billion starting in South Africa to Lybia.

“Insurance (industry) should be leading participation in this transformation,” urged Nazare. It is estimated that US$ 3 billion worth of premiums is exported overseas every month adding to US$ 1.4 trillion of wealth that Africa exported to the outside world since 1980s.

Nazare said it would beneficial to the insurance industry to retain most of these premiums and it could be achieved if Africans sit down and discuss burning issues. “We must have institutions that that are meaningful and we must build robust insurance companies”.

He urged the insurance should sector not to ignore challenges facing the African continent calling on the industry to take them head on. The recent problem that delayed the conference was Ebola outbreak, which meant delegates coming from infected areas could not come to the conference.

“We must assist them in their fight”. According to Patience Mwarwiro, who is a member of Local Organising Committee and Managing Director of First Reinsurance Botswana, the attendance target for the conference was 250 delegates and by the time of rescheduling from August to November, there were 187 delegates registered and registration was still ongoing.

“This rescheduling of the conference did affect the attendance as you are aware insurance market is on renewal mood and most insurance/ reinsurance companies are conducting their renewals,” she told the conference.

There were also cancellations as it is the period when board meetings are taking place and Botswana government being strict on entry into the country. “You will also note that due to the restriction put in place to arrest the spread of Ebola, our delegates and colleagues from the affected region were not able to attend”.

The Botswana Confederation of Commerce Industry and Manpower (BOCCIM) President, Lekwalo Mosienyane told the participants that the country has a diversification strategy in place, which they should take advantage of.

“There are immense possibilities within the financial realm and insurance whether short term or life, has played a fundamental role in Botswana’s development,” he said.

“The tourism, health, education and services sectors are also brewing with opportunities….Let me further emphasise that we have a thriving domestic financial sector, which includes banks, insurance companies and growing stock market”.

Mosienyane advised the conference participants to make headway in partnership discussions and utilise the forum to find new innovative solutions for their products. “Utilise this platform to not only talk to your Botswana counterparts, but to reinvent how business is done for maintaining global competitive advantage, seek innovative solutions to your product offerings and think of the impact that insurance can make not only within your industry, but on a country-development scale”.

The three-day conference managed to register 170 delegates from 3 continents and 21 countries. The delegates are from Angola, Bahrain, Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Switzerland, Southern Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, UK, Zambia and Zimbabwe .

The theme of the conference is titled “Overcoming Barriers to Enhancing Regional Capacity in the Insurance Industry”. The theme is befitting, since the sector is currently facing numerous challenges that need sophisticated solutions enabling insurers to remain relevant and to provide insurance covers that meets the dynamic market needs.