CIMA - Conference Interafricaine des Marches d'assurances

What CIMA - Conference Interafricaine des Marches d'assurances does

CIMA (Conference Interafricaine des Marches d'Assurances) is an intergovernmental insurance regulatory organization established by treaty in 1992 in Yaoundé, Cameroon. It exercises exclusive supervisory authority over insurance and reinsurance markets across 14 African member states: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo. CIMA's core product is the unified CIMA Insurance Code, a binding body of regulation applied identically across all member jurisdictions, which covers market access, licensing, financial solvency, policyholder rights, and now digital distribution and AML/CFT compliance. Its operating machinery comprises three principal bodies — the Council of Ministers (CMA) as decision-making authority, the General Secretariat for execution, and the Regional Commission for Insurance Control (CRCA) as on-market supervisor — supplemented by two specialized institutions: the International Insurance Institute (IIA), which delivers professional training and certification, and CICA-RE, the zone-level reinsurance pool providing reinsurance of last resort.

Name

CIMA - Conference Interafricaine des Marches d'assurances

Legal name

Conférence Interafricaine des Marchés d'Assurances

Website

https://cima-afrique.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CIMA is a treaty-based intergovernmental organization founded in 1992 that regulates insurance and reinsurance markets across 14 African member states through a unified Insurance Code, the CRCA supervisor, the IIA training institute, and the CICA-RE reinsurance pool.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Insurance Regulation and Supervision

NAICS

Finance and Insurance (52), Insurance Carriers and Related Activities (524)

SIC

International Affairs (9721), Insurance Carriers, Nec (6399)

akta.pro primary industry

Financial Services Regulators (Banking, Securities, Insurance) (BPAIAOAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Regulatory Change, Governance & Compliance Management (GRC) (FSACAJAK), Financial Services & Insurance (FINRA, CFP, IAR, Insurance CE) (EDAAALAJ)

Keywords

• Insurance regulation
• Insurance supervision
• Policyholder protection
• Insurance market harmonization
• Regulatory framework

Headquarters

HQ city

Libreville

HQ country

Gabon

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CIMA operates as the intergovernmental regulatory and supervisory body for insurance markets across 14 African member states. It establishes and enforces the unified Insurance Code (Code CIMA), supervises insurance and reinsurance companies through the Regional Insurance Control Commission (CRCA), protects policyholders, and maintains statistical databases and market information systems covering the regional insurance industry.

Product overview

CIMA (Conférence Interafricaine des Marchés d'Assurances) is a pan-African regulatory and supervisory organization for insurance markets across 14 member states. Rather than a commercial product company, CIMA functions as a regional regulatory body providing: (1) the CIMA Treaty and Insurance Code as the foundational regulatory framework, (2) the Regional Insurance Control Commission (CRCA) for market supervision and policyholder protection, (3) General Secretariat for administrative operations, (4) policyholder request and complaint handling services, (5) statistical data and key figures on insurance markets, (6) publications including annual reports, periodic reports, and studies, and (7) specialized institutions including the International Insurance Institute (IIA) in Yaoundé and CICA-RE reinsurance entity. The organization operates through the Council of Insurance Ministers (CMA) and Committee of Experts governance structures.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Insurance Code (Code des Assurances) The comprehensive insurance code and regulations governing all insurance activities across CIMA member states, including provisions for insurance contracts, reinsurance, supervision, and market conduct.
• Regional Insurance Control Commission (CRCA) Supervision Compliance-based and risk-based supervision of insurance and reinsurance companies, including on-site and off-site inspections, market conduct monitoring, and sanctioning authority, serving insurance and reinsurance companies operating in the CIMA zone.
• Policyholder Protection Services

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and strategic.

• FANAF (Fédération des Sociétés d'Assurances de Droit National Africaines)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIMA and FANAF co-organized the General Estates of Insurance from March 7-9, 2018 in Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire), working together on regulatory reform resolutions addressing automobile insurance, distribution, life insurance, microinsurance, health insurance, and market consolidation.
• International Insurance Institute (IIA) YaoundécoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpecialized CIMA institution providing insurance training and professional development. CIMA sets IIA budgets and approves its action programs. IIA Yaoundé had 2025 budget of 1,909,705,910 FCFA.
• CICA-RE (Compagnie Commune de Réassurance des Etats Membres de la CIMA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerReinsurance company serving CIMA member states, providing regional reinsurance capacity and risk pooling for insurance companies operating in the zone.
• Banque des Etats de l'Afrique Centrale (BEAC)minorOthersCentral bank for CEMAC region, listed as partner organization for financial sector coordination.
• Banque Centrale des Etats de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (BCEAO)minorOthersCentral bank for WAEMU region, partnered on financial integration initiatives including tripartite cooperation with COSUMAF and CIMA.
• COSUMAF (Commission de Surveillance du Marché Financier de l'Afrique Centrale)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerCapital markets regulator for Central Africa. Signed tripartite cooperation convention with AMF UMOA and CIMA on July 2026 to strengthen regional financial integration through technical cooperation, mutual assistance, and information exchange.
• AMF UMOA (Autorité Monétaire de l'Afrique de l'Ouest)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerWest African Monetary Union authority. Partnered with COSUMAF and CIMA in July 2026 tripartite cooperation to reinforce regional financial integration.
• ACPR (Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution)minorOthersFrench prudential supervisory authority, listed as partner for regulatory expertise exchange.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• AMF UMOA - Autorité Monétaire de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (formerly WAMU): AMF UMOA is the WAEMU regional monetary and financial authority and a signed tripartite cooperation partner with CIMA and COSUMAF. It performs regional banking and financial supervision in the WAEMU countries, several of which overlap with CIMA member states.
• COSUMAF - Commission de Surveillance du Marché Financier de l'Afrique Centrale: COSUMAF is the Central African capital markets regulator and a signed tripartite cooperation partner with CIMA and AMF UMOA. Both operate as treaty-based regional financial supervisors in overlapping CEMAC member-state geography, making COSUMAF CIMA's closest regional peer.
• Africa Re - African Reinsurance Corporation: Africa Re is a pan-African reinsurer pooling risks from across the continent, comparable to CICA-RE which CIMA owns and which provides regional reinsurance capacity to CIMA-zone insurers. Both are intergovernmental/AfDB-affiliated reinsurance vehicles serving African insurers.

Others

• African Development Bank (BAD / AfDB): AfDB is listed as a CIMA development finance partner and provides development financing for African financial sector initiatives. It functions as an enabling/financing partner rather than a regulator, supporting CIMA's regulatory strengthening programs.

Broad incumbents

• EIOPA - European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority: EIOPA is the EU-wide insurance and occupational pensions supervisor with cross-border mandate over multiple national markets, making it the closest functional analog to CIMA's regional CRCA model. Both harmonize prudential and conduct rules across member jurisdictions.
• ACPR - Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution (France): ACPR is the French integrated insurance and banking supervisor listed as a regulatory cooperation partner of CIMA. It shares the prudential supervision remit, conducts on-site and off-site oversight of insurers and reinsurers, and influences CIMA's technical framework.
• NAIC - National Association of Insurance Commissioners: NAIC is a US multi-state insurance regulator coordinating solvency and market conduct oversight across 50 jurisdictions. Its multi-state compact model parallels CIMA's treaty-based approach to harmonize rules across 14 sovereign African markets.
• IAIS - International Association of Insurance Supervisors: IAIS is the global standard-setting body for insurance supervision whose Insurance Core Principles CIMA's governance strengthening efforts aim to align with. Both operate as rule-makers and conveners of insurance supervisors, though IAIS is non-binding globally versus CIMA's binding treaty authority.

Regional players

• NAICOM - National Insurance Commission (Nigeria): NAICOM is the federal insurance regulator for Nigeria, Africa's largest insurance market outside CIMA. As a fellow African insurance supervisor, it operates an analogous licensing, supervision and policyholder protection mandate and is a natural counterpart for cross-African supervisory cooperation.
• BCEAO - Banque Centrale des Etats de l'Afrique de l'Ouest: BCEAO is the central bank for WAEMU and a CIMA cooperation partner. Its regional prudential and monetary oversight role across West African Francophone countries parallels CIMA's cross-jurisdiction supervisory function in the same geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cima-conference-interafricaine-des-marches-d-assurances

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about CIMA - Conference Interafricaine des Marches d'assurances