National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has approved the 39.25% acquisition of Royal Exchange General Insurance Company Limited (REGIC), by Germany’s InsuResilience Investment Fund (IIF).
In a notification to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), shareholders, and the investing public at large, Royal Exchange Plc, which is the parent firm of REGIC, said through its activities, the IIF is expected to reach out to more than one million Nigerian farmers by 2025.
The parties involved in this acquisition have already documented their signatures. This signals a partnership commitment to using the proceeds of the investment to leverage REGIC’s growth by increasing its risk capital and supporting its underwriting capacity in agriculture, thereby extending its outreach to low-income farmers.
[READ MORE: NSE lifts suspension hammer placed on Universal Insurance Plc]
Commenting on the deal, Chairman, Royal Exchange Plc, Kenny Odogwu, said, “REGIC has entered into strategic alliances with various stakeholders in the agricultural space to drive insurance within that sector of the economy. Agriculture and retail insurance, we believe is the future of insurance and at Royal Exchange, we will continue to develop products and services to ensure that we remain relevant in this space. REGIC is determined to take advantage of growth initiatives available in the industry, while leveraging on technology to expand its revenue base and stronger bottomline.”
What you should know: While the Luxembourg-based IIF was set up by KfW, the German Development Bank, on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the investment fund is being managed by Swiss-based impact investment manager, BlueOrchard Finance Limited.
[READ ALSO: Nigeria Weekly Update: CBN goes for growth]
The overall objective of the IIF is to contribute to the adaptation to climate change by improving access to and the use of insurance in developing countries. The specific objective of the Fund is to reduce the vulnerability of low-income households and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) to extreme weather events.
