Africa Trade, Investment and Development Insurance (ATIDI), Africa’s first development insurance company, has made scaling up a condition of economic sovereignty. On the sidelines of the African Investment Forum (AIF) held in Morocco’s capital Rabat from 26 to 28 November 2025, CEO Manuel Moses emphasized the need to build models that can cover investment risks, build regional guarantees (RCTG, PoRSA, RLSF) and accelerate commercial integration led by AfCFTA to free up capital. Amid infrastructure deficits, global instability and opportunities on the continent, ATIDI positions itself as a vehicle for building financing and a catalyst for sustainable investment in Africa.
In a continent where structural deficits remain acute, the question is no longer “how to finance” but “how to insure.” Because without trust, there is no patient capital, no large-scale projects, and no effective economic integration. By joining this new edition of the AIF, ATIDI not only occupies an institutional position but also reminds us that development insurance companies are accelerators, not just safety nets. As a historic partner of the African Development Bank since its entry into the capital in 2013, ATIDI builds solutions that not only cover risks, but also reduce friction, unlock sovereign financing and gradually integrate it into national emerging strategies.
Moreover, this guarantee is not a traditional insurance product, but rather a lever of competitiveness, a tool for regional coordination, and an important vector for increasing the credibility of cross-border projects. In this exclusive interview with Financial Afrik, Manuel Moses, CEO of African Trade, Investment and Development Insurance (ATIDI), decodes the key topics in this ecosystem.
Why is ATIDI participating in the African Investment Forum?
First and foremost, I would like to pay tribute to the organizers for the outstanding quality of the event. The African Investment Forum (AIF) is a unique platform that brings together the entire development ecosystem to deliberate together and facilitate deal-making, with the aim of supporting the continent’s economic rise. As Africa’s first development insurance company, we are pleased to be able to contribute to AIF’s success. Our presence also symbolizes our strong partnership with the African Development Bank, which became a shareholder of ATIDI and invested in our company in 2013. Since then, nearly $60 million in funding has been awarded to several countries involved in the ATIDI accession process, actively supporting their dynamic accession.
It is also worth noting that the African Development Bank is also a user of our solution.
We guaranteed a $159 million loan granted by the African Development Bank to fund the expansion of Ethiopian Airlines’ fleet, particularly through the acquisition of Airbus A350-900 aircraft.
We also supported $500 million worth of credit insurance contracts structured to cover a portion of the non-sovereign business portfolio in Africa.
In December 2023, ATIDI became a strategic partner of the Lusophone Development Compact (LDC), an initiative led by the African Development Bank. In this context, we are deploying risk mitigation solutions to LDC countries with the goal of turning them into strong regional economic hubs.
Finally, we maintain regular engagement with African Development Bank President Sidi Ould Tarr and his administration to further strengthen our support for the African Development Bank’s ambitious policies. We are fully committed to playing our part in this project.
How will the development finance ecosystem reach the scale needed to produce the desired impact?
In the face of the large development deficits Africa is experiencing, it is vital that the development finance ecosystem reaches sufficient scale to unlock the continent’s true potential and ensure sustainable growth. Several key elements are essential to this scale-up.
– Project quality and financial viability (bankability).
-Involvement of both public and private stakeholders.
– Clarity of expected impacts.
-Respect the environment and the environmentally responsible nature of our efforts.
Projects must also target the most urgent and strategic sectors for African economies, such as infrastructure, energy, agriculture and telecommunications. However, a fundamental and transversal enabler of these large-scale projects is for investors to understand and mitigate the risks they face. This is exactly where ATIDI comes into play. Our recognized status as Africa’s leading development insurance company, trading track record and strong reputation give investors the confidence they need to deploy capital to the continent, knowing their investments are protected against unforeseen obstacles. Therefore, we play a key role in the realization of large-scale projects and enable significant transformation. We are true drivers of African development.
How do ATIDI’s latest products (RCTG, PoRSA, RLSF) contribute to achieving this scale?
We are constantly working to enhance our product offering to meet the requirements of an increasingly complex, volatile and rapidly changing sector, supporting a sector that is critical to Africa’s economic development.
These three solutions are part of this strategy.
access to energy
It was introduced in partnership with KfW Development Bank and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) through the Regional Liquidity Support Facility (RLSF). RLSF is a guarantee mechanism for independent renewable energy producers (IPPs). This protects these producers from payment delays from public buyers, usually state-owned power companies. To date, the facility has mobilized $433.5 million in renewable energy investments and supported the production of 223 MW of clean energy in several African countries.
Financing small and medium-sized businesses in Africa
We are implementing the PoRSA product (Portfolio Risk Sharing Arrangement) with support from the African Union and KfW Development Bank. This solution helps reduce the risks borne by local financial institutions and improves access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises, which are a true pillar of Africa’s economy and generate up to 90% of jobs and income in some countries on the continent.
cross-border trade
Our RCTG product, Regional Customs Clearance Guarantee (RCTG), is a unique guarantee that simplifies the transit process for goods across borders in Africa. The device is being built in collaboration with Africa-Re, Afreximbank, COMESA, Zep-Re and ZEP-RE. This is a key means for airlines to reduce costs and shorten transit times, and is an essential condition for the success and effective implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.
Each of our solutions targets critical sectors and is designed to remove structural barriers, enable capital mobilization, and provide states with the means to create lasting, real change. Its rollout will occur in stages across the continent, with the aim of increasing scale and impact one transaction at a time. We are also open to integrating these solutions into larger collaborative initiatives.
Do you think a “one-stop shop” for development insurance makes sense for Africa?
This concept definitely makes sense given the immense challenges facing the continent. For example, Africa needs to mobilize an additional $170 billion a year just to fill infrastructure gaps (energy, water, transport). However, in 2024, it captured only 6% of global foreign direct investment and only 6% of global FDI flows. Strengthening collaboration in this area will optimize impact and accelerate achieving the scale needed to meet these needs.
ATIDI is actively working towards this, in particular by:
-Strengthening our partnerships with development finance institutions, such as the African Development Bank, to align and co-deploy our solutions in their portfolios.
-Initiate or co-develop innovative products with our technical and financial partners.
-Conclusion of risk-sharing agreements with export credit agencies such as CESCE, SACE, Turkish Export-Import Bank, Hungarian Export-Import, ECI Dubai, and Qatar Development Bank.
Currently the world’s largest integrated market in terms of number of countries, the AfCFTA offers a historic opportunity to energize large-scale projects and tangibly improve the lives of Africa’s 1.5 billion consumers. However, such an effect will only be possible with large-scale investment mobilization.
In a global economic environment marked by uncertainty, risk mitigation through robust, proven solutions that protect investors and their capital against unforeseen events is key to providing the level of confidence needed and necessary for engagement in Africa.
