APA Apollo Group is set to acquire two insurance companies in Tanzania as it moves to increase its share of underwriting businesses outside Kenya.
The insurer, which already has a subsidiary in Uganda and an associate in Tanzania, has informed the Fair Competition Commission (FCC) —Tanzania’s watchdog that oversees business mergers and acquisitions— about the intention.
APA Apollo Group Chief Executive Ashok Shah said in an interview the two companies to be acquired are Meticulous General Insurance and Metro Tanzania Life Assurance Company.
The insurer has not disclosed how much the two deals will cost, even as the CEO added that APA is also eyeing another acquisition in Uganda.
“We are waiting for regulatory approval to take over the two companies in Tanzania. We want to expand into the region. We will also be looking at Uganda to acquire a life insurance business and make APA a truly regional business,” said Mr Shah.
The insurer plans to complete the deals in Tanzania through AIL Holdings Tanzania, which is a non-operating holding company incorporated in Tanzania as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Apollo Investments (the holding company of APA Apollo Group).
The FCC notice seeking public views on the deals shows that APA Apollo will acquire 66.7 percent stake in Metro Tanzania Life in line with the share purchase agreement signed on January 5, 2026. Details of the Meticulous General Insurance transaction were not immediately available.
“FCC has begun the review and investigation of the intended acquisition with a view of examining whether it is likely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition in a relevant market,” reads the FCC notice on the impending Metro Life deal.
The proposed deals will see APA deepen its operations in short-term and long-term insurance business in Tanzania. Currently APA owns a 34 percent stake in Reliance Insurance Tanzania, which is a general insurer.
In Uganda, APA owns APA Uganda General Insurance. Therefore, the plans to buy a life insurer will see it own a short-term and long-term insurance business in Uganda.
Kenyan insurers have been deepening their presence in the region, with the likes of ICEA Lion Group, Britam, Jubilee Holdings, CIC Insurance Group and GA Insurance all having businesses in several East African countries.
Kenya Reinsurance Corporation said last year it was planning to set up a subsidiary in Tanzania as it embarks on an expansion strategy to win more business in Africa.
The move will help the reinsurer to win back the business it lost following the introduction of regulations that barred reinsurers without local presence from underwriting any business in that market.
However, APA’s plan to deepen presence in Tanzania comes on the back of another Kenyan insurer, Liberty Kenya Holdings, exiting its 60 per cent stake in Heritage Insurance to end a 25-year operation in the market.
The planned APA deal comes at a time when Mr Shah, who has been the CEO since 1996, is set to step down from his CEO position at the end of June this year. He will be succeeded by Risper Ohaga, who is completing her tenure as chief financial officer and executive director at East African Breweries Plc.
APA Apollo Group posted a net profit of Sh1.05 billion in the financial year ended December 2024, marking a growth from Sh926.69 million in the previous year as insurance revenue grew to Sh17.46 billion from Sh16.72 billion.
