Thursday, December 14, 2023 in Brazzaville, the Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr. Jean-Baptiste Ondaye, launched the festivities marking the fifty years of the creation of the company Assurances et Réassurances du Congo. The ceremony took place at the ARC headquarters, in the presence of the Director General of this first public insurance company in the country, Mr. William Massembo Doumou

The opportunity was appropriate for the responsible minister to recall the context in which this company was born: “Barely thirteen years after our country's accession to sovereignty, the creation by order no. 32/ 73 of October 31, 1973, of a national company called ''Assurances and Reinsurances of Congo'', acronym ARC, was a courageous and historic act; an act considered one of the first successful attempts to transform Congo's political independence into economic independence. At that time, in fact, private insurance companies, branches of European companies established in Congo, did not contribute enough to the development of the young nation. The insurance premiums that these companies collected were entirely intended for the European market. The birth of the ARC put an end to this state of affairs,” said the speaker.

Minister Jean-Baptiste Ondaye also mentioned some key reforms, necessary for the development of the ARC and initiated by the Government over the last fifty years. “Eager to guarantee the competitiveness of the Compagnie Assurances et Réassurances du Congo, a public player in the insurance sector, the Governments which have succeeded one another since its creation have not spared the reforms necessary for its development. As an illustration, in 2007 the Government launched a process of in-depth restructuring of this company. In 2010, the decisive impetus given by this process made it possible to increase the share capital of the ARC to 4 billion CFA francs for a turnover estimated, today, at around 33 billion CFA francs.

Finally, the responsible minister insisted on the virtues that ARC agents must cultivate for irreversible growth of the company, throughout the next fifty years, that is to say in 2073, when the ARC will last 100 years, in a sector that has become competitive since 1995. “As everyone knows, our country has long since turned the page on statism in the economic field, resolutely setting its sights on free enterprise. In this context, the insurance sector has been liberalized since 1995, causing the ARC to lose the privilege of absolute monopoly from which it had benefited since its creation in 1973. In such a context, the ARC is called upon to demonstrate more ingenuity and creative spirit; the ARC must demonstrate greater anticipation and professionalism in the face of the demands of a competitive market. For our part, we will ensure this as the supervisory Ministry, while providing the necessary support, within the limits of the texts in force. At the Société Assurances et Réassurances du Congo, the permanent quest for effectiveness and efficiency must remain a leitmotif. In this way, the next fifty years will be those of irreversible growth for the greater good of the national community.”

Note that the launch of the festivities commemorating the half-century of the ARC as an institutional investor was marked by an open day and a carnival in the capital city.

The Communication Unit of the Ministry of Economy and Finance