A MULTI-national African insurance agency, covering risks ranging from war to repossession and aimed at boosting direct investment in the continent, was born in Kampala on Monday with seven countries coming on board. The African Trade Insurance Agency (ATIA) “is an African-owned agency which was set up with the support of the World Bank at the request of its current member countries, and its aim is to become a pan-African Insurance Agency and ultimately an insurance company,” said ATIA Director General Bernard de Haldevang after the inaugural signing ceremony. ATIA’s founding member’s are Uganda, Zambia, Burundi, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda and Tanzania, while other members of the Organisation of African Unity, now becoming the African Union, are expected to join in coming years. The soft loan branch of the World Bank, the International Development Association, has put up $105-million as a contribution to the agency’s start-up costs. “ATIA’s aim is to cover all aspects of trade and investment risks from transfer convertibility risks to credit risks, war risks and expropriation risks,” Haldevang said. – AFP