Cameroonian national Éric Rochereau Kouaghu Tchuisseu has been appointed secretary general of the Inter-African Conference on Insurance Markets (CIMA), the body that regulates insurance markets across 14 countries in Central and West Africa. The announcement was made in Douala during a meeting between the newly appointed official and insurance industry representatives gathered under the Association of Insurance Companies of Cameroon (ASAC).
CIMA oversees insurance markets in six Central African countries — Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Gabon, Chad and Equatorial Guinea — as well as eight West African countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo.
Kouaghu Tchuisseu will officially take office on April 1, 2026, at the organization’s headquarters in Libreville, where he will succeed fellow Cameroonian Blaise Abel Ezo’o Engolo, whose mandate ends this year. Ezo’o Engolo has held the position since 2021.
A career in insurance regulation
Before his appointment to lead the regional institution, Kouaghu Tchuisseu served at the national directorate of insurance within Cameroon’s Ministry of Finance. He successively held the positions of assistant policy officer and later head of the Insurance Inspection and Related Affairs unit.
His appointment comes at a time when CIMA faces several structural challenges, including enforcing minimum capital requirements for insurance companies, strengthening sector oversight, expanding insurance culture in economies where penetration remains low, and rebuilding trust between insurers and policyholders.
One of the world’s lowest insurance penetration rates
The main challenge lies in the limited size of the market. According to the most recent official data, insurance penetration across the 14 CIMA member states stood at around 1% in 2022.
By comparison, penetration reached 11.3% in South Africa, 3.9% in Morocco, 2.2% in Tunisia, 8.7% in France and 6.8% globally that same year.
This low level reflects both a coverage gap and significant growth potential for insurers. Limited interest in insurance products is often linked to public mistrust of insurers, the weight of the informal sector, and a lack of awareness of available products.
Several measures are regularly proposed to expand the market base, including digitalization of insurance services, development of microinsurance and agricultural insurance, stronger financial literacy programs, expansion of mandatory insurance schemes, and efforts to improve trust between insurers and clients.
A market largely dominated by West Africa
Created on July 10, 1992, in Yaoundé, CIMA oversees a regional insurance market whose total revenue reached CFA1,699.54 billion in 2022, up 12.6% year over year.
According to official figures, the market is largely dominated by companies operating in West Africa. In 2022, they accounted for 66.9% of the non-life segment and 78.4% of the life insurance segment.
Brice R. Mbodiam
