Olamide Olajolo, Managing Director of Coronation Insurance, says insurance companies cannot compromise their obligations to policyholders in pursuit of infrastructure investment.
He reiterated that Insurance companies must carefully match their investments to their liabilities, particularly given their obligations to policyholders.
He also stressed the importance of investment-grade projects with credible structures, predictable cash flows and risk-adjusted returns.
‘We need credible, bankable projects, appropriate risk-sharing structures and investment opportunities that allow us to meet our obligations while contributing to economic development,’ he stated during a strategic roundtable at the Africa Financial Summit (AFIS) 2026, held recently in Luanda, Angola.
Olajolo called for targeted regulatory reforms, stronger credit enhancement mechanisms, and a consistent pipeline of bankable infrastructure projects to unlock Africa’s insurance industry’s potential to finance the continent’s infrastructure development.
He highlighted the need to mobilise domestic institutional capital and create the conditions for insurance companies to become more active participants in financing Africa’s long-term development priorities.
Held under the theme, ‘Making Capital Count: Unlocking Growth Through African Finance,’ AFIS 2026 brought together policymakers, financial services leaders, investors and development institutions to examine how Africa can strengthen its financial architecture, deepen capital markets and mobilise the resources required to accelerate economic transformation.
Olajolo identified high regulatory capital charges under existing solvency requirements as a significant constraint on insurers’ participation in long-term infrastructure investments.
He therefore called on regulators to consider more appropriate capital treatment for qualifying infrastructure investments, alongside frameworks that encourage institutional participation without compromising policyholder protection.
He also advocated collaboration between regulators, development finance institutions, credit guarantee agencies and capital market operators to develop innovative financing instruments, including infrastructure debt funds and credit enhancement structures.
Adilson Gabriel Alves Catala, Secretary of State for Civil Aviation, Maritime and Port Sectors, Ministry of Transport, Republic of Angola, urged insurers across Africa to make infrastructure investment a deliberate part of their strategic objectives.
He emphasised collaboration with institutions such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and capital market participants to develop risk-mitigation instruments, urging insurers to actively pursue investment opportunities rather than wait for them to emerge.