Kenya Re's new subsidiary in Kampala will be operational by the end of 2019. The objective is to become one of the leaders on the Ugandan insurance market [4] currently dominated by Uganda Re, Zep Re and Africa Re.
Since Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia set up their own reinsurance company, Kenya Re is facing stiffer competition with market share losses. In addition, major disasters such as the Ethiopian Airlines plane crash, the attack on the Dusit resort in Nairobi and the floods in Asia are weighing heavily on the results.
As of June 30, 2019, the reinsurer's net profit fell by 12.2% compared to the same period in 2018. The good news is that the gross written premiums of the H1 2019 grew to 310.8 billion UGX (83.52 million USD), that is an increase of 40% in comparison with the first half of 2018.