March 31, 2026, President Julius Maada Bio formally opened the new headquarters of the West Africa Reinsurance Corporation (WAICA) PLC in Freetown, describing the occasion as a watershed moment not only for the company but also for Sierra Leone and the wider West African sub-region. He described the new building at 4A Alshek Crescent in Hill Station as a visible testament to WAICA’s confidence in Sierra Leone and the corporation’s contribution to regional integration, job creation, and financial-sector strengthening.
In his keynote address, President Bio stated that WAICA has played an important role in creating professional opportunities for Sierra Leoneans and the local business community, as well as helping to strengthen the country’s financial system. He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ensuring a stable legal and regulatory framework, as well as a favourable business environment, for institutions like WAICA to thrive. The President also mentioned that the government provided freehold land for the headquarters’ construction.
WAICA Group Chairman Mr Kofi Duffuor welcomed the President’s presence as a powerful affirmation of the institution’s continued commitment to Sierra Leone. He described the President’s participation as an act of Pan-African solidarity that will be remembered in WAICA’s history, and praised President Bio for his leadership, support for long-term institutions, and adherence to the protocols and agreements that facilitated WAICA’s establishment in the country.
The Group’s Managing Director highlighted WAICA Re’s broad and diverse ownership structure as a key source of strength. The Group, which has over 200 shareholders from West Africa and beyond, is made up of insurance companies, financial institutions, and strategic investors who are united by a regional commitment to cooperation, risk sharing, and market development. WAICA’s diverse shareholding creates stability and character, positioning it as a Pan-African institution based on partnership, trust, and shared prosperity.
WAICA Re was founded and incorporated in 2011 to create a supportive environment for the West African insurance industry that would reduce reliance on external intervention for protection and economic security. This vision was developed decades earlier. Sierra Leone granted WAICA full diplomatic status, allowing it to collaborate with regional and international organisations.
WAICA Re has implemented policies over the last 15 years to keep insurance and reinsurance business—and its economic benefits—in the countries where they are generated. One of the Group’s defining principles is that reinsurance premiums generated within a jurisdiction are transacted in the local currency, and claims are paid in the same currency. In Sierra Leone, this policy relieves local ceding companies of the burden of obtaining scarce foreign exchange to meet obligations, thereby reducing foreign currency outflows from the ECOWAS region. Furthermore, WAICA has a policy of investing premiums generated in a country within that country; WAICA executives cite the new headquarters as tangible proof of that commitment to local investment.
The company has a significant social and economic footprint in Sierra Leone: out of over 210 shareholders, 96 are Sierra Leonean corporate entities and individuals, accounting for nearly half of the Group’s individual shareholding. In terms of staffing, 29 of WAICA’s 113 employees, spread across Africa, the United Kingdom, and the Middle East, are Sierra Leoneans, accounting for more than 25% of the company’s workforce. Leaders emphasised the importance of broader socioeconomic impacts, such as supporting livelihoods, strengthening families, and empowering communities.
The event featured the unveiling of a commissioning plaque, a formal declaration, a ribbon-cutting ceremony, a media photo session, and a guided tour of the new headquarters. WAICA officials and government representatives described the event as the beginning of a new chapter for the corporation in Sierra Leone, one that reinforces the principles of regional integration, local empowerment, and responsible investment that are central to WAICA Re’s mission.
