The Sunday Mail
Nelson Gahadza
Business Reporter
ZB Financial Holdings, a leading Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed financial services group, has set up a reinsurance unit in Botswana, P&C Reinsurance, as part of the group’s strategy to grow its footprint in the region, as well as diversify revenue streams.
The group’s regional expansion plans have been ongoing, with the company earlier announcing its intention to start financial services operations in Mauritius and Botswana.
Group chief executive Mr Shepherd Fungura said the move into Botswana was part of a deliberate strategy that aligns with the vision of becoming a leading, globally acclaimed financial services firm in Africa.
“From a strategic point, ZBFH was motivated to establish in Botswana due to the need to grow in the region and diversify streams.
“For the ZBFH group, this move is a stepping stone for identifying further growth opportunities in its key areas of specialisation, banking, insurance and investments, not only in Botswana but also the rest of the continent,” he said.
P&C Reinsurance commenced operations in July this year and was officially launched on November 8, 2022. It underwrites short-term reinsurance business in Botswana and the rest of Africa.
Mr Fungura said the company had its own separate retrocession programme and offered a full range of reinsurance products and services — including fire, motor, engineering, liabilities, crop and livestock insurance.
“The company took note of Botswana’s desire to increase livestock and crop production in its agriculture initiatives and promised to complement with appropriate insurance products for protection against insurable perils,” he said.
Mr Fungura said P&C Reinsurance will aggressively pursue digitalisation as part of the ongoing One Digital ZB transformation journey and this will ensure that it will not be restricted by physical location.
The regional unit is headed by general manager Mr Boas Manzvera, whose team has a combined experience extending 30 years. Mr Manzvera said P&C Reinsurance was already making a positive impact on the market and had already secured some good business from customers in that market.
ZBFH is currently pursuing an aggressive digital transformation programme that has culminated in a massive rebranding and digitisation of processes and procedures, among them mobile and internet banking.
Mr Fungura said the strategic focus into 2023 would be growing and expanding the business beyond Zimbabwe by increasing the group’s footprint on the continent.
During the half-year period to June 30, 2022, ZB Reinsurance’s net profit after tax in inflation-adjusted terms, improved from $277,56 million in 2021 to $990,70 million.
The company’s total assets increased from $4,073 billion as at December 31, 2021 to $5,660 billion on June 30, 2022.
