Photo of the 2017 Pan-African Reinsurance Journalism Awards winners attached (Isaac Khisa – Gareth Stokes – Josiane Kouagheu)
The 2017 Pan-African Reinsurance Journalism Awards winners were announced at a gala dinner in Dakar, Senegal, shining a spotlight on the excellent work of African media in the industry.
In its second year, the Pan-African Re/Insurance Journalism Awards received entries from French and English speaking journalists from 13 countries across Africa.
Mr Gareth Stokes of Commercial Risk Africa (South Africa) was awarded the Pan-African Reinsurance Journalist of the Year Award for his article “Botswana in search of growth”. In his article, he addressed the numerous challenges insurers and insurance brokers face in Botswana; not least of which the impact of the low commodity cycle and cyber-crime.
Ms Josiane Kouagheu of Agripreneur d’Afrique (Cameroon) was awarded Best Re/Insurance Industry Feature Article for her story “In Cameroon, agriculture does not attract insurers”. In her article, Josiane Kouagheu investigates why Cameroon, a country where more than 50% of its population works as farmers, does not offer agricultural insurance. It also explores a possible solution – the development of Index Insurance.
Mr Isaac Khisa of Independent Publications in Uganda was awarded Best Re/Insurance Industry Analysis and Commentary for his article “Insurance industry tops Shs 700bn”. In his article, Isaac Khisa highlighted that the insurance industry in Uganda is slowly growing as premiums continue to surge. To deepen insurance penetration, companies are identifying new opportunities, particularly in the area of micro-insurance, according to the journalist.
Continental Reinsurance initiated the awards in 2015 to recognise and acknowledge the good work of media on the continent. Journalists were required to demonstrate how their articles raised awareness and understanding of the re/insurance sector in Africa.
Dr Femi Oyetunji, Group MD / CEO of Continental Reinsurance Plc said: “At Continental Reinsurance, we strongly believe that these awards inspire media to cover issues related to re/insurance and improve the overall quality of the reporting. After another successful edition, we have no doubt the Pan-African Re/Insurance Journalism Awards will continue to live up to its mission.”
Chair of the international judging panel Mr Afif Ben Yedder said: “This year, we were pleased to notice a remarkable improvement in the number and quality of contributions from francophone Africa. As a result the jury selected francophone finalists for the first time.”
The independent, international judging panel consisted of Mr Afif Ben Yedder, Ms Nadia Mensah-Acogny,Mr Michael Wilson, Mr William Wallis, Ms Julia Graham, and Ms Inga Thordar.
