DEADLINE: 15TH JULY, 2021
AFRICAN REINSURANCE CORPORATION (AFRICA RE)
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL: SUSTAINABILITY (ENVIRONMENT, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE) CONSULTANCY SERVICES
(1) Introduction
The African Reinsurance Corporation (“Africa Re” or “the Corporation”) is an international organization with headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria, and with a dual commercial and developmental mandate focused on the African insurance sector.
Africa Re has six regional offices: Casablanca (Morocco), Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire), Nairobi (Kenya), Lagos (Nigeria), Cairo (Egypt) and Ebène (Mauritius). In addition, Africa Re wholly owns three operating subsidiaries, namely: Africa Re South Africa Limited (Johannesburg, South Africa), Africa Retakaful Company (Cairo, Egypt) and Africa Re Underwriting Agency Limited (Dubai International Financial Centre, United Arab Emirates).
The Corporation is an admitted reinsurer in Brazil and has contact offices in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) and Khartoum (Sudan) with an additional Underwriting Representative Office in Kampala (Uganda). Africa Re has a fully registered foundation (Africa Re Foundation) based in Ebène (Mauritius) that oversees all Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives.
The Corporation, created by a multilateral agreement in 1976, is owned by 41 member states of the African Union (AU), the African Development Bank (AfDB), 113 African insurance and reinsurance companies and three leading global insurance and reinsurance groups.
The financial strength and credit rating of the Corporation is “A” by A.M. Best and “A-” by Standard & Poor’s. The Corporation is the only pan-African reinsurer to be so highly rated.
(2) Project Background
The Corporation has existing policies, procedures and guidelines to handle some sustainability initiatives using underwriting guidelines, investment activities, compliance checks, due diligence measures, stakeholder agreements, procurement processes, governance practices, risk culture and grievance mechanisms.
However, it is now imperative that these initiatives be enhanced, codified and aligned with international best practice, especially given the increasing focus on sustainability issues driven by Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) considerations together with their material impact on long-term financial performance.
Africa Re is undertaking this project to consolidate all existing and potential sustainability commitments under a well-defined policy framework that is easily monitored, regularly refined and appropriately reported. The designation of a common framework will improve the efficiency of the ESG activities.
It will be critical to ensure that the outcome of this exercise aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other applicable international best-practice measures.
(3) Project Objectives
The Corporation’s objectives for undertaking this exercise, which are expected to be fully met through the engagement of the consultant, include:
(i) To consolidate and codify all existing sustainability initiatives.
(ii) To develop a formal framework for sustainability activities.
(iii) To identify stakeholders and business partners on our sustainability journey.
(iv) To develop a formal Sustainability Statement for the Corporation.
(v) To align the Corporation’s sustainability activities, initiatives, documentation, reporting and performance metrics with applicable standards and international best practice.
(vi) To establish performance metrics for sustainability activities and initiatives especially across different functions in the Corporation that will drive ownership and accountability for our sustainability efforts.
(vii) To underscore the importance of sustainability among the various stakeholders of the Corporation.
(viii) To review our underwriting and other operating activities across different lines of business and develop an internal sustainability classification with recommendations on opportunities for growth into more sustainable business where necessary.
(ix) To propose a disclosure framework in line with the global sustainability standards.
(x) To embed ESG considerations into the policy framework, culture and governance structure of the Corporation.
Proposals should be received by Africa Re not later than 15 July 2021.
