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Business Reporter
ZIMBABWE is set to join 10 other countries in the continental insurance agency, African Trade Insurance, following an injection of a $5 million grant by the African Development Bank towards the country’s membership fees.

Government will contribute a further $5 million as counterpart funds. Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa said that becoming a member of the continental insurance agency would help lower the cost of doing business internationally.

The ATI is Africa’s export credit agency which provides political risk and trade credit risk insurance products with the objective of reducing the business risk and cost of doing business in Africa.

Its main goal is to help increase investments into African member countries and two-way trade flows between Africa and the world. ATI facilitates exports, foreign direct investment into and trade flows within the continent.

Minister Chinamasa said the AfDB had agreed to contribute as a grant $5 million towards the country’s membership of the African Trade Insurance.

“This is a continental insurance body which if we become a member could reduce the cost of doing trade and business internationally. We want to become a member and we will contribute counterpart funds of $5 million. This will enable us to be a subscriber shareholder to the African Trade Insurance,” said Minister Chinamasa.

Currently ATI conducts business in Benin, Malawi, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Madagascar and Zambia.

Other members of the insurance agency include AfDB, the Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa, African Reinsurance Corporation and the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (PTA Bank), the PTA Re Insurance Company (Zep Re), among others.

It was launched in 2001 with the financial and technical support of the World Bank and the backing of seven African countries. The African Development Bank recently joined as shareholder and partner by funding countries to join ATI.

Since 2003, ATI has supported over $17 billion worth of trade and investments across the continent and expanded membership with plans to attract even more African member countries and international financial institutions in the near term.

ATI was created to fill a market gap in trade and investment risk mitigation in Africa. In response to the demand, a number of African countries came together to establish an insurance mechanism to protect their economies against losses caused by credit and political risks.