Senegalese Reinsurance Company (SENRE) has recorded a turnover in MENA of around $4.5m in 2021, according to SENRE manging director Adama Ndiaye.
In an interview with the magazine Enterprise, he said that the turnover was attained through the reinsurer’s unit in Tunis. The figure represents nearly 10% of SENRE’s total premiums and gives an operating margin of more than 15%.
Mr Ndiaye said, “The performance is the result of a selective underwriting policy carried out by an experienced team under the direction of a competent and experienced actuary whose contribution is decisive for SENRE, which derives great benefit from her knowledge of the market and her generosity in the transmission of that knowledge.” His reference is to SENRE regional director at the Tunis office, Dalila Ben Hadj Hamida.
Since its launch in 2016, the Tunis office has helped to strengthen the confidence and performance of SENRE in North Africa, he said.
In order to expand into Africa, SENRE chose to open the office in Tunis to be able to seize opportunities and offer a local service to strategic partners in North Africa and the countries that are culturally close to Tunisia, Mr Ndiaye said. In addition, Tunisia also allows the reinsurer to anchor itself both in sub-Saharan Africa and in the Arab world. Furthermore, the potential of the Tunisian market is a development opportunity for local and international players such as SENRE.
He said, “Even if Tunisia has been in a phase of change since the Arab Spring (2010-2011), which had an impact on the country’s economic performance, our conviction remains that its attractiveness, its market infrastructure and its resilience are guarantees of a certain recovery in the short term.” M