Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) has signalled its intention to establish a significant local presence in Sub-Saharan Africa with the appointment of Delphine Maidou as CEO of its regional subsidiary, AGCS of Africa Pty Ltd. Ms Maidou, currently AGCS’s Head of Market Management in Canada, will be based in the company’s Johannesburg office as from September 3rd and will lead its planned expansion across the region, taking overall responsibility for AGCS business in both South Africa and the wider Sub-Saharan zone.
As part of AGCS’s global growth strategy, South Africa and now Sub-Saharan Africa are important markets, as demonstrated by Ms Maidou’s appointment and by the company’s planned investment in the region. AGCS plans to more than double its local team over the next three years to support this move. This investment will strengthen AGCS’s regional services so that all African clients and brokers will have access to its full range of products including property, marine cargo, general aviation, engineering, liability, financial lines and global programs. AGCS also benefits from the already established presence of Allianz Africa which has offices in 11 sub-Saharan countries, including Ivory Coast, Senegal, Ghana and Cameroon, and with which AGCS will collaborate closely in these markets.
AGCS estimates that the South African non-life market alone will generate a premium of about R60bn (Euro 5.8bn) by the end of 2012 and that the corporate segment is currently worth about R6bn (Euro 580mn) of the whole non-life market, with other local markets growing as their economies expand. AGCS forecasts that the Sub-Saharan economic area will grow by more than 5% over 2012 and 2013 and that this growth trend will continue given the region’s economic potential, requirements for infrastructure development and its richness in natural resources.
Andreas Berger, AGCS Chief Regions & Markets Officer comments: “AGCS’s global presence continues to grow allowing us to be where our international clients need us to be. The Sub-Saharan economic area is forecast to see significant growth in the coming years. Given the region’s abundant natural resources and the plans to significantly invest into infrastructure projects we expect this to continue and AGCS intends to be part of this growth. By welcoming Delphine to the local team, we are significantly increasing our presence in this region, demonstrating our commitment to developing new markets alongside our clients.”
Delphine Maidou adds: “Africa is a relationship-driven market that cannot be run without being on the ground. The continent is a complex cluster of independent markets requiring local knowledge in each territory. Our model operates by working with local and global brokers and by having active teams on the ground in the countries where the business is generated. Allianz has been involved in the South African market since 1981 and I look forward to extending this involvement more widely across the Sub-Saharan region.”
Hervé Gloaguen, CEO of Allianz Africa, and Frédéric Baccelli, General Manager of Allianz Africa also very much welcome this nomination: “We are certainly delighted that AGCS further expands its footprint in Africa. AGCS and Allianz Africa have been intensively cooperating in recent years to serve our clients in the best possible way, and we are convinced that Delphine’s nomination is a great signal to our clients on Allianz’ commitment to this very fast growing continent.”
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