Business Desk 
ZEP-RE (PTA Reinsurance Company) participated in the 2nd COMESA CEOs retreat that provides an opportunity for chief executive officers of COMESA institutions to come together to engage and share insights on matters pertaining to the organisations that they represent, and the COMESA in general.
COMESA is focused on seeking ways to strengthen and build #resilient and #impactful institutions that contribute to the growth of the #African continent.
The ZEP-RE Managing Director and CEO Ms. Hope Murera was in attendance at the Summit, accompanied by Mr. Jerry Sogoli, Head of COMESA Pools, Projects and Stakeholder Management. They were hosted by the COMESA Secretary General and ZEP-RE Board Chairperson, Ms. Chileshe Kapwepwe at the Taj Pamodzi Hotel, Lusaka.
ZEP-RE (PTA Reinsurance Company) was founded by COMESA in 1990 to promote the trade in #insurance and #reinsurance through creation of capacity, training of the region’s insurance personnel, provision of technical services and the re-investment of premium funds within the region. It began its operations on 1st January 1993.The COMESA region continues to be our main #focal market, contributing a huge chunk of the business underwritten, which increased from 78% to 84% during the 2021-2022 period.
After 30 years of being in business, ZEP-RE has grown as an #institution, driven by a diverse, resilient and solid workforce. New partnerships have also been concretized to foster collaboration as we work towards accomplishing our development #mandate, particularly through the #transaction of reinsurance business within and outside the COMESA region.
We have engaged more with national #governments and #regulators to align on how best to deliver our shared mandates for growing the insurance industry in the region. Penetration of insurance in our COMESA markets remains low at less than 3%, which implies that the bulk of our communities, especially the most vulnerable, remain unprotected. ZEP-RE has taken an increased focus to change this by leading initiatives in #partnership with regional governments to promote the financial inclusion agenda through insurance, to change the narrative and build resilience of our communities.
In working with regional governments, we have engaged and continue to deliberate on ways to strengthen and support development of national agriculture schemes in Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Malawi.
Further, the company has deployed its subsidiary ACRE Africa, to augment these efforts through leveraging their technology and digital solutions to increase reach and access of agriculture insurance to small holder farmers.
In order to facilitate and promote cross-border trade and travel, ZEP-RE, under the mandate of COMESA manages the COMESA Yellow Card Scheme and the COMESA Regional Customs Transit Guarantee (RCTG) Pool.
