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Vista Group Holding says it has completed the purchase of Saham Assurances Niger, a deal the financial services group is pitching as a step toward building a combined banking and insurance footprint across West Africa.
In a statement dated Thursday, Feb. 12, the group said it acquired 99.99% of the Niger insurer’s share capital and has renamed the company Vista Assurances Niger. The purchase adds a new country to Vista’s young but fast growing insurance push, running alongside its banking operations.
Vista is led by Simon Tiemtore, a Burkina Faso born financier who built the group around deal driven expansion in francophone and neighboring markets. Tiemtore is described in industry profiles as the founder behind the investment platform that controls Vista’s banking and financial services interests.
The company did not disclose the financial terms of the Niger transaction. Instead, it framed the acquisition as part of a longer plan to broaden access to insurance products for households and businesses that often operate with limited formal protection. Vista said the move supports its goal of creating an integrated financial ecosystem that links bank branches and insurance distribution.
Vista has already planted flags in the sector through Vista Assurances Guinea and Vista Assurances Burkina Faso, and the Niger purchase is meant to strengthen that network, the company said. It described the insurance arm as modern and more customer focused, with a focus on practical coverage that can be sold and serviced through a regional platform.
Tiemtore said insurance should be treated as a core tool for resilience, arguing it can help families and firms manage shocks that can quickly become financial crises. In the company’s statement, he said Vista wants to widen access to protection, build trust in the sector and deliver products that fit local realities.
The group also tied the Niger expansion to what it calls deeper market development. Vista said it intends to support insurance culture, contribute to the structure of the local market and back the broader economy by offering coverage that matches the needs of individuals, small businesses and institutions.
Executives highlighted the potential for closer links between Vista’s banks and its insurers in the West African Economic and Monetary Union area, often referred to by its French acronym UMOA. The company pointed to bancassurance products, shared commercial and operational expertise, and smoother customer journeys as priorities that could help it compete and scale.
Chief executive Yao Kouassi said the strategy is rooted in customer experience and in building simpler products that still carry meaningful value. He said Vista Assurances Niger is intended to become a local player that raises standards while staying anchored in its market.
