Gov’t must facilitate discussions to join ATI

Nana Osei-Bonsu, Director-General of the Private Enterprise Federation, has called on Government to use its leadership of the Economic Community of West African States to fast-track discussions on joining the African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI).

He said with membership, including continental organisations like the Africa Development Bank and the African Reinsurance Corporation, ATI services could yield tremendous benefits to the local insurance industry. Nana Osei-Bonsu was speaking at a press conference on strengthening Ghana’s Economy in Accra on Tuesday.

The ATI is a Pan-African company that provides specialty insurance to the business community, with unique ability to insure directly, re-insure and co-insure. He said Ghana stands to benefit from 0 million in added capacity from the ATI to support trade and investment transaction.

He said the country needed to improve on capital mobilization and deepen the availability of various financial products of the private sector. “Sectors primarily known for capital mobilization are the pensions and the insurance industries,” he added.

Nana Osei-Bonsu said from 2009 to present, ATI has built a pipeline of opportunities valued at over $ 1.1 billion and if Ghana were a member, these investments would benefit the agriculture, energy, health and telecommunication sectors. “These projects could help bring investment into Ghana to create local jobs and help our companies to compete on a level playing field with international companies,” he said.

Mr. George Otieno, Chief Executive Officer of ATI, said the Agency’s main products were political risk insurance, which protects companies against illegal acts of government.

“It also protects companies against the risk of non-payment corporate clients and offer reinsurance support on bonds,” he added. He said their mandate was also to help increase investment into Africa and to facilitate more trade within the continent.

He said ATI was helping banking industries by protecting millions of dollars of loans against the risk of default. Mr. Otieno said the Agency had supported many countries in their manufacturing sector, indicating that ATI’s products allow these countries to sell their goods to government agencies on a more competitive basis with credit terms.

Mr. Kwame-Gazo Agbenyadzie, President, Ghana Insurer Association, said Ghana needed the products and service of ATI to boost its insurance market. Currently, ATI conducts business in ten countries including Benin, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia among others.