Winners of the the 2017 Pan-African Reinsurance Journalism Awards have been announced.
Mr Gareth Stokes of Commercial Risk Africa (South Africa) won the 2017 Pan-African Reinsurance Journalist of the Year Award, while Ms Josiane Kouagheu of Agripreneur d’Afrique (Cameroon) was awarded Best Re/Insurance Industry Feature Article.
Mr Isaac Khisa of Independent Publications in Uganda won the Best Re/Insurance Industry Analysis and Commentary category.
The winners were named at a gala dinner in Dakar, Senegal focusing on the excellent work of African media in the industry.
The 2nd edition of the Pan-African Re/Insurance Journalism Awards received entries from French and English speaking journalists from 13 countries across Africa.
Stoked won with his article “Botswana in search of growth” in which 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
Kouagheu’s winning entry was “In Cameroon, agriculture does not attract insurers” which investigated why Cameroon, a country where more than 50% of its population works as farmers, does not offer agricultural insurance.
It also explored a possible solution – the development of Index Insurance.
Khisa o was awarded the Best Re/Insurance Industry Analysis and Commentary for his article “Insurance industry tops Shs 700bn” that highlighted why the insurance industry in Uganda is slowly growing as premiums continue to surge.
To deepen insurance penetration, companies according to Khisa are identifying new opportunities, particularly in the area of micro-insurance.
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.