African Risk Capacity Insurance appoints Lesley Ndlovu new CEO

The African Risk Capacity Limited (the ARC Ltd) has appointed Mr. Lesley Ndlovu as its new Chief Executive Officer following the expiration of the tenure of Ms Dolika Banda, the former CEO, under whose tenure the company recorded impressive growth of its disaster risk pool portfolio. Mr. Ndlovu was the former CEO of AXA Africa Specialty Risks, a Lloyd’s of London insurance syndicate and has extensive international experience spanning 14 years across corporate finance, audit, tax advisory, insurance and investment management sectors in several countries including Bermuda, Singapore, France and the United Kingdom. As CEO, Mr Ndlovu will work under the guidance of the ARC Ltd Board in defining and implementing the ARC Ltd’s strategic vision and will be accountable for its financial sustainability. Mr. Ndlovu will have full strategic, financial and operational accountability for taking the company forward and growing pool membership, among other key roles.

“We are deeply appreciative and grateful to Ms. Dolika Banda for her selfless hard work, leadership and sterling commitment to ARC’s mission throughout her tenure in the past three years which helped see the Agency through many challenges in the start-up phase”, said the Board Chairman, Mr Dele Babade. “We have reasonable expectations that Mr. Ndlovu will leverage his expertise, vast experience, deep knowledge and impressive networks to chart a new path with good partnerships to ensure that ARC remains a continental leader in disaster risk management and financing”, he added. Mr. Ndlovu is a graduate of the University of Oxford in England and at the Institut Européen d’Administration des Affaires (INSEAD) in France. He is a CFA charter holder, a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England & Wales and a member of the Institute of Directors.

The appointment take effect from March 1^st, 2020. The ARC Ltd is a financial affiliate of the African Risk Capacity (ARC), which is a Specialised Agency of the African Union established to assist member states in tackling the impact of natural disasters on vulnerable people. ARC transfers the burden of weather and other natural disaster risks away from governments, enabling them to build resilience and better plan, prepare, and respond to extreme events. It is a ground-breaking public-private partnership that focuses on facilitating economic development in Africa and empowering governments to protect their vulnerable populations from the impact of natural disasters through the provision of sovereign insurance. Seeded by the UK’s UK Department of International Development (DFID) and Germany’s BMZ through KFW, ARC Ltd is a mutual insurance company that will eventually be wholly owned by African sovereigns.