Pan-African insurance group, SUNU Group, and the international microfinance group Advans have announced that SUNU Assurances Vie Cameroun has acquired a stake in Advans Cameroun.
The announcement followed the approval of the deal by the supranational banking supervisor, Central African Banking Commission (COBAC), according to a statement issued by SUNU Group.
SUNU Assurances Vie Cameroun becomes a shareholder of Advans Cameroun with a 24.88% stake. Advans SA SICAR, the holding company of the Advans Group, remains the majority shareholder of the Cameroonian institution.
SUNU Group said, “This agreement, built on strong synergies between the microfinance and insurance sectors, marks an important milestone for the financial institution. It is an opportunity for Advans Cameroun to strengthen its market position and increase its impact on the communities it serves.”
Ms Mamie Kalonda, managing director of Advans Cameroun, hopes that the deal will strengthen the microfinance group’s tailor-made insurance offerings to Cameroon's micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.
Mr Dimitri Iriyé, managing director of SUNU Assurances Vie Cameroun, said, “Joining the capital of Advans Cameroun is much more than a strategic investment. It's a concrete commitment to inclusive and accessible finance. By teaming up with a player as committed as Advans, we want to build simple, innovative and useful insurance solutions within everyone's reach — even those who, until now, have been on the margins of conventional financial channels.”
This alliance strengthens a strategic partnership initiated in Côte d'Ivoire. In December 2021, SUNU Assurances Vie Côte d'Ivoire acquired a 10% stake in Advans Côte d'Ivoire. This partnership has enabled the launch of insurance products such as Soutra, Hospit, Agrissur and Oukalé, as well as funeral and hospitalisation insurance products that have already been acclaimed by over 35,700 Advans Côte d'Ivoire customers.
SUNU Group is today present in 17 countries in sub-Saharan Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, DRC, Senegal, Togo. The Group’s stable includes 26 life and non-life Insurance companies, two banks, and several other entities. The Group has grown over the years through the acquisition and creation of companies.
Advans is an international microfinance group that was created to build a network of microfinance institutions in developing and emerging countries to meet the needs of small businesses and populations with inadequate access to formal financial services. In Africa, the group has operations in Cameroon, Ghana, the DRC, Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, and Tunisia.