TINASHE MAKICHI
ZEP-RE (PTA Reinsurance Company) plans to invest $20 million towards the construction of an office park in Borrowdale, Harare as the reinsurance firm spreads its tentacles in the real estate realm.
ZEP-RE is a regional organisation charged promoting trade, development and integration within the COMESA region through trade of insurance and reinsurance business. The firm was created by an agreement of Heads of State and Government of the COMESA region in November 1990 in Swaziland. The insurance company has been in operation since 1993 and is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya.
ZEP-RE regional director for Southern Africa hub Jephita Gwatipedza told Business Times that the reinsurance firm was looking at spreading its focus towards retail estate after having secured another property in Belgravia.
“We bought a property in Belgravia and we also have some land around Sam Levy Village in Borrowdale where we are going to invest $15m to $20 million towards the construction of an office park.
“We have been instrumental in trying to invest in Zimbabwe and we have managed to bring McKinsey, which is one of the world’s biggest research companies that does data analytics,” said Gwatipedza.
The reinsurance firm is targeting to underwrite business worth $20 million by the end of this year after underwriting $15 million worth of business during the first seven months of 2018.
The target by the insurance firm is premised on anticipated growth in the economy which will be catapulted by increased infrastructure projects and other economic development initiatives.
ZEP-RE also operates regional offices in Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire), Douala (Cameroon), Lusaka (Zambia) and a Retakaful Window in Khartoum,Sudan.
ZEP-RE’s operational activities are driven by the desire to provide technical services to its client, to actively participate in and support the development of the region’s insurance and reinsurance industry
