Continental Reinsurance (Continental Re) has completed the relocation of its group holding company from Mauritius to the Republic of Botswana, following the conclusion of logistical, statutory and regulatory processes.
The move shifts the group’s corporate center to a market it describes as one of Africa’s more stable and reform-focused financial hubs.
The company, founded in Nigeria about 40 years ago, operates a reinsurance network serving clients in more than 50 African countries. It previously moved its holding structure to Mauritius to support access to international capital and strategic expansion before selecting Botswana as the base for its next phase of growth.
The relocation also follows a broader restructuring that created Continental Reinsurance Holdings as the new group-level entity headquartered in Botswana, alongside governance changes across the organization.
Under that structure, Lawrence Nazare has been confirmed as group managing director of Continental Reinsurance Holdings, with former Continental Reinsurance Plc chair Paul Kokoricha now chairing the board at the holding level.
The new holding company will operate independently from Continental Reinsurance’s existing Botswana subsidiary, which has been based in Gaborone for the past 11 years. That subsidiary serves a growing local and regional client base and forms part of a wider network of more than 1,000 cedants and brokers across Africa.
Continental Reinsurance said Botswana offers a combination of macroeconomic stability, governance frameworks and financial sector reforms that align with its long-term plans as a pan-African reinsurer. The group cited the country’s focus on economic transformation as a factor in the decision to relocate the holding entity.
Botswana’s macroeconomic agenda has drawn fresh backing from international institutions and the local business community. In its 2025 Article IV consultation, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) endorsed government moves to cut wasteful spending, refocus public investment and advance the Botswana Economic Transformation Program to promote private sector-led growth and financial deepening.
For re/insurance players, that backdrop aligns with a positive domestic outlook: a market study projects Botswana’s insurance market to grow at a 6.2% compound annual rate through 2033, supported by regulatory change, shifting customer needs and broader economic development.
Nazare said the relocation is both a strategic and symbolic step for the organization. “This move reflects our deep commitment to Africa, and our conviction that Botswana offers a uniquely enabling environment for long-term investment,” he said.
Nazare added that “the country’s stability, institutional maturity and progressive reforms provide the foundation we require as a Pan-African reinsurer with global ambitions.”
He also highlighted the concept of “botho” in Botswana’s business culture, saying the country “mirrors the values we embody: integrity in conduct, passion for our mission, collaboration rooted in mutual respect, responsiveness to evolving needs, and a relentless pursuit of excellence.”
