Kenya’s biggest publicly traded insurer by market value is planning expansion in African nations with low insurance penetration to augment and diversify revenue.
Britam Holdings Ltd., which already has operations in seven African nations, will mostly focus on acquisitions rather than greenfield operations, Chief Executive Officer Tom Gitogo said Friday. The insurer also intends to grow the revenue streams in the countries it currently operates in, he said.
“It’s public that we’re looking” at the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gitogo said during a briefing. “We intend to close this up as soon as possible because the opportunities that exist in the insurance space in DRC are enormous.”
The insurance penetration rate of some Africa countries is about 1%, according to Chairman Kuria Muchiru.
“We are not yet even scratching the surface,” he said during the briefing. “Let’s say we targeted a penetration of 15% the next five years, that will still be more than 10 times what we have in some countries.”
Britam’s net income dropped by more than a tenth in the first half to 1.74 billion shillings ($13.5 million), even as insurance revenue rose 11%. Its shares have surged 57% this year to 9 shillings by 10.28 a.m. in the capital, Nairobi.
Photograph: An advertisement for Britam Kenya General Insurance Co. in Nairobi, Kenya. Photo credit: Patrick Meinhardt/Bloomberg
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