The $144m Business Opportunity in Uganda Insurance

Monday December 27, 2010

While some investors might perceive Uganda as having a highly risky business environment given the country's political history and the currently ongoing campaigns for the 2011 general elections; One company sees a 144 million dollar investment opportunity.

AFRICAN Trade Insurance Agency (ATI), a multilateral trade and investment insurer, has pooled $144m to boost political insurance cover in Uganda.

Allan Mafabi, an executive at ATI, said the country had sailed through a history of political chaos leading to huge losses due to burglary and vandalism, but traders lose out if their enterprises have no political risk cover.

He noted that political insurance should be every business person’s priority.

“Our message is quite simple. ATI’s purpose in Uganda is to help insurers provide more options to their policy holders on one hand, while also supporting Ugandan exporters in this difficult global economic climate,” noted Mafabi.

Political risk insurance helps investors protect their business interests against government actions or politically-motivated violence that may impact negatively on their business.

ATI provides solutions that help attract more foreign direct investments into the African continent with competitively priced political risk insurance products.

Since inception, the firm has supported over $2b worth of trade and investments into Africa.

Original Article By David Ssempijja - The New Vision