Fifty years. In African institutional history, few sectoral organizations can boast such longevity without losing their soul, direction, and credibility. The Federation of African National Insurance Companies, better known by the acronym FANAF, is celebrating half a century of existence today, of battles and patient construction of a continental market that is still young but already structured. Fifty years of commitment to an African insurance conceived by Africans, adapted to local realities, and inscribed in a vision of regional integration. This anniversary, celebrated this week in Abidjan on the occasion of the 50th annual general assembly of the organization, is first and foremost a duty of memory.
A tribute to the founding fathers, to these often discreet pioneers who, in a post-colonial context marked by institutional fragility and financial dependence, understood that insurance could not remain a simple appendage of foreign groups. They laid the foundations of a sovereign, professionalized sector capable of supporting industrialization, infrastructure, and the modernization of economies. Their legacy is not only measured in texts, institutions, or statistics, but in a culture of the profession, characterized by rigor, caution, and responsibility. However, at fifty, the mission is not over. It is far from complete. One of the major structural challenges remains the unique approval, a true grail of insurance integration.
In a space fragmented by sometimes contradictory national frameworks, mutual recognition of approvals would allow African groups to deploy their capacities more freely, to mutualize their risks, and to strengthen their competitiveness against global actors. Without this tool, the ambition of a true single market remains incomplete. In this context, it would be dangerous to succumb to a recurring illusion: to believe that the scandalous low penetration rate of insurance in Africa will be resolved by the multiplication of mandatory insurances. This approach, often defended for convenience, amounts to transforming insurance into a disguised tax. It fuels a logic of constraint rather than trust. A healthy market is not built on administrative obligation but on voluntary adherence based on the credibility of the service provided. The reality is more complex. The low rate of effective claims settlement in several segments reveals that the problem is not only quantitative but also qualitative.
As long as the insured perceives insurance as a levy without tangible counterpart, distrust will persist. The truth lies in the solidity of practices, transparency of procedures, and speed of compensation. This is why the rigorous supervision of the insurer-insured relationship by the rule of law remains central. The consolidation of the prudential framework of the CIMA, the control of overhead costs, strict compliance with regulatory ratios, and the quality of governance are the pillars of an efficient insurance space. Without financial discipline, reliable reporting, and effective control, sustainable growth is not possible. But African integration in insurance also faces another major contradiction: the discontinuity of banking and financial regulations, especially regarding the circulation of capital.
This fragmentation heavily penalizes companies in the CEMAC zone, whose financial leeway remains limited. Where their UEMOA counterparts can rely on the relative depth of the BRVM to valorize their technical reserves, insurers in Central Africa remain constrained by the structural weakness of the BVMAC. This financial asymmetry weakens regional balance and limits long-term investment capacities. Modern insurance cannot simply rely on passive fund management. It must be a major player in financing economies, infrastructure, energy transition, and housing. Without integrated and liquid financial markets, this vocation remains constrained.
At fifty, FANAF is at a pivotal moment. Strong in its history, respected for its structuring role, it must now fully assume a political mission in the noble sense: to carry the voice of a strategic sector, defend real integration, and promote an African insurance model based on trust, performance, and responsibility. Honoring the founding fathers is not just about celebrating the past. It is about extending their ambition. Making African insurance not a disguised fiscal instrument, but a lever for security, investment, and shared prosperity. Only at this price can FANAF continue, without wrinkles, to write one of the most beautiful pages of the continent’s economic integration.
