ZEP-RE (PTA Reinsurance Company) is a specialized institution of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) charged with promoting trade through insurance and reinsurance business. It was established on 23rd November 1990 in Mbabane, Swaziland through an Agreement of Heads of State and Governments of COMESA. The Company commenced business operations in January 1993 and is headquartered in Nairobi.
The Signatory Member States to the Charter include Angola, Burundi, Comoros, D.R. Congo, Djibouti, Kenya, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Rwanda, Somali, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
ZEP-RE was created to fulfill the following objectives:
• Foster the development of the region’s insurance and reinsurance industry;
• Promote the growth of national and regional underwriting and retention capacity; and,
• Support sub-regional economic development with the ultimate objective of facilitating and
enabling social transformation and the regional economic development agenda.
The Company’s functional mandate is to:
• Transact reinsurance business;
• Create and administer pools for various risks;
• Train and develop technical capacity in the region;
• Provide technical assistance to insurance industry of the region;
• Invest funds in the sub region to promote economic development; and,
• Promote business co-operation in the regional insurance industry.
They are keen to include environmental, social and governance issues relevant to their insurance business in their decision-making processes. They also commit to raising awareness of environmental, social and governance issues, manage risk and develop solutions for their clients and business partners. As a regional reinsurer, they work with governments, regulators, and other key stakeholders in the insurance industry and shall from now henceforth work towards promoting widespread action across society on environmental, social and governance issues.
They are a responsible corporate citizen and will endeavour to demonstrate accountability and transparency in regularly disclosing publicly their progress in implementing the Principles.