Third IAA Fund African Actuarial Congress - Lomé

THE ACTUARIAL PROFESSION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA

On April 24-26, 2013, the Association Actuarielle au Togo (Actuarial Association in Togo, AAT) hosted the Third African Actuarial Congress at the Mercure Sarakawa Hotel in Lomé.  The meeting was supported by the IAA Fund and the Africa Sub-committee of the IAA’s Advice and Assistance (A&A) Committee.   

A total of 131 people attended the meeting from 32 countries, including 23 African countries (Togo, Ghana, Benin, Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroun, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda and Zambia).  The IAA Fund provided bursaries for 20 participants coming from 11 African countries other than Togo. 

The welcome cocktail in the gardens of the venue hotel on 24 April 2013 was offered by the Ministry of Economy and Finances.  M. Kénou Djivi Tchédjiton, the Director of the National Insurance Commission of Togo (conveyed by M. Kofi Max Assignon) welcomed the participants on behalf of the Minister of Economy and Finances, M. Adji Otèth Ayassor.  The effective congress meetings started the next morning, moderated by M. Kofi Max Assignon from the National Insurance Commission, who successively introduced M. Théophile Kodjo Locoh, the Chairman of the Comité des Assureurs du Togo (CAT), Mlle Mina Ketevi, the Chair of the Association Actuarielle au Togo (AAT), and M. Themba Gamedze, the Chairman of the Africa Sub-committee of the IAA (represented by M. Lusani Mulaudzi) to welcome the participants. 

Then followed a keynote address by His Excellency the Prime Minister of Togo, M. Kwesi  Ahoomey-Zunu, who emphasized the importance of the development of the actuarial profession for Africa, its role in the development of micro-insurance, the start-up of an actuarial programme in Lomé and the significance of this event taking place in Lomé with so many present from all over Africa. 

Speakers on professional topics and actuarial education included experiences from the Caribbean, the development of an actuarial analyst qualification, a training the trainer programme for university lecturers in Senegal, actuarial capacity-building in Ghana, micro-insurance, takaful insurance, mortality tables for the region, Solvency II, insurance accounting and an encouraging message on YouTube from a Togolese fully qualified actuary in Canada, who amongst many messages to his compatriots recommended that the actuarial profession in Africa should fully comply with the international actuarial standards and requirements instead of inventing their own.

The Congress was preceded by three days of training on pension matters requested by ‘la CIPRES’ and delivered under the auspices of AWB and co-financed by the Institute of Actuaries in Belgium.

The IAA Fund is very grateful for the support received from private firms, actuarial associations, the German overseas development agency GIZ and the public authorities in Togo, in particular the Ministry of Economy and Finances, the Ministry of Security & Civil Protection, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, the Ministry of Arts and Culture and the Ministry of Tourism.

This activity, which is supported by the IAA Fund Subcommittee of the A&A Committee, contributes towards achieving the IAA’s strategic objective to support the development, organization and promotion of the actuarial profession in areas of the world in which it is not present or is not fully developed. To learn more about the work of the IAA Fund, contact its Chief Executive, care of the IAA Secretariat.