NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 2 – Apollo Investments Limited, whose flagship subsidiary is APA Insurance (APA), will partner with Hollard International to open up new business opportunities on the continent for both insurers.
An agreement was finalised on October 31, 2023, for Hollard to acquire a significant interest in Apollo Investments Limited, the holding company of APA, Kenya’s second-largest insurer.
Hollard becomes the second international investor in the leading Kenya-based group following Swiss Re, which acquired a stake in 2014.
The Hollard-APA transaction is subject to regulatory approval.
The investment will give APA access to a larger market and expanded opportunities for growth, while enabling Hollard International to gain a foothold in the East African market to supplement its existing operations in Southern and West Africa, says Ashok Shah, Group CEO of Apollo Investments Limited.
“It’s an exciting time for APA because the Hollard partnership will open new doors and new avenues of growth for our business. We’ll have access to substantial new expertise in classes of business such as Motor, Engineering, Marine and other specialist lines of insurance, which we believe will open up a number of profitable business opportunities.”
Expressing the significance of this partnership, Shah notes, “In addition to expanding our operations in Kenya, this venture will also enable us to strengthen our foothold in Uganda and Tanzania. Moreover, it positions us favourably to seize opportunities in the Ethiopian market once it becomes accessible.”
Pravin Kalpagé, CEO of Hollard International, is equally upbeat about the transaction, saying, “Partnering with APA Insurance is a giant step forward for Hollard International and will help us immeasurably in extending our footprint in Africa.
“APA has an established track record, an impressive value proposition with strong broker and customer relationships, and it shares our values around community, reliability and customer-centricity. All these elements resonated strongly with us.”
Kalpagé says the investment continues Hollard International’s African model of finding strong local businesses and management teams with whom to partner in the country.
He has also pledged to work with APA to bring Hollard’s model of “impact beyond insurance” in order to be “a catalyst for social impact” to the East African market.
