• Mamadou Koné won 101 of 201 votes at FANAF’s 50th congress

• He succeeds César Ekomie-Afene for a three-year term

• Koné aims to boost insurance penetration and market integration

Mamadou G.K. Koné, president of the Association of Insurance Companies of Côte d’Ivoire (ASA-CI) and chief executive officer of SanlamAllianz Côte d’Ivoire, has been elected president of the Federation of African National Insurance Companies (FANAF) at the organization’s 50th congress. He succeeds César Ekomie-Afene, who had served since 2020, for a three-year term.

Koné secured 101 votes out of 201 cast, ahead of Evelyne Fassinou with 68 votes and Mamadou Faye with 32 votes. Aymric Kamega, chief executive officer of ACAM Vie in Cameroon since 2016, was elected vice president. Together, they are tasked with strengthening the integration of African insurance markets, improving sector resilience, and increasing the industry’s contribution to the continent’s economic development.

Africa’s insurance sector remains underdeveloped, weighed down by the large informal economy, low purchasing power, and limited distribution capacity among traditional players. Koné said he intends to make FANAF more proactive, inclusive, and aligned with local realities. He believes Africa holds significant untapped insurance potential that remains marginal in daily life. His agenda includes exploring new distribution channels and expanding action areas to drive premium growth and position insurance as a lever for economic development.

A broad career

Koné has more than 25 years of experience in the insurance sector. His career spans the full insurance value chain, including life and non-life business, reinsurance, brokerage, actuarial work, regulation, and governance. After starting at AXA in Côte d’Ivoire, he joined the National Insurance Directorate and later the Inter-African Conference on Insurance Markets (CIMA), where he served as chief supervising commissioner. He was also a member of CIMA’s committee of experts from 2014 to 2020.

As head of ASA-CI since 2021, he led the digitalization of motor insurance certificates, seen as a major step to improve transparency and fight fraud. He is also vice president of the General Confederation of Enterprises of Côte d’Ivoire (CGECI) and sits on several boards of financial institutions.

A graduate of London Business School (MBA), ENSAE Paris in actuarial science, and the International Insurance Institute (IIA) in Yaoundé, Koné plans to modernize FANAF by making it more digital, inclusive, and innovative.

Sandrine Gaingne