UAP Group has announced plans to venture into Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda by end of this year, as it pursues its Pan African business strategy. The Kenyan-based UAP Group is a Pan - African Financial Services Company comprising of eight subsidiaries which operate in insurance, property development and investment management areas. It said it eyes operations in all COMESA member states by year 2014. “We have clients operating through out Africa and if they can get an insurer to deal with in all these markets that they operate in, they can be very happy with such an insurer,” said UAP Group managing director James Muguiyi.The group wants to raise Sh5.5 billion through private equity and public offer to fund its network expansion strategy and foray into new business areas. UAP which had planned to have an IPO last year was forced to delay these plans due to the bullish stock market. Though the market is improving, Muguiyi said, the firm will pursue listing by introduction in the next one to two years, pending approval by the Capital Markets Authority. It plans to increase its shareholders to at least 1000 through the listing. In the next few months, UAP Insurance Uganda will also de-merge to give rise to UAP life Assurance company Uganda.
