By Dipo Olowookere
African member governments and other shareholders of African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI) will earn their first dividend this year after the agency declared a profit of $9.9 million in the 2017 financial year.
The dividend payment came after the General Assembly of ATI approved it at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Abidjan, where the company also announced its record-breaking 2017 financial results for the sixth consecutive year.
ATI has earmarked an initial $2.5 million in payments to its shareholders which include 14 African member governments.
The company’s CEO, Mr George Otieno, noted that, “We have been planning for this moment for several years and I am happy to finally announce that we are ready to give something back to our shareholders.
“This signals our intention to continue showing value to our member governments and shareholders, while providing non-member countries and institutional investors an incentive to join.”
In 2017, ATI recorded gross exposures of $2.4 billion and, in the same period, the company covered investment and trade activities across the continent valued at USD10 billion.
ATI owes its strong results in part to growing demand from investors and African governments for their products as the continent continues to position itself as an attractive destination for investors. Africa’s drive to increase trade within its borders is also fuelling ATI’s success.
The African multilateral insurer also announced the Indian government’s $10 million shareholding, which will be represented by ECGC, India’s export credit agency.
Adedapo Adesanya 
Business Post Contributor