Ivorian tycoon Koné Dossongui brings private equity investor into his insurance group

Ivorian tycoon Koné Dossongui has brought private equity firm Mediterrania Capital Partners into AFG Assurances, the insurance arm of his Atlantic Group, as the business prepares to double the number of insurers it runs across French-speaking Africa.

Atlantic Group and Mediterrania, known as MCP, announced the deal on Nov. 2. Neither side disclosed the size of the stake or the amount invested.

AFG Assurances owns seven life and non-life insurers in West Africa, Central Africa and the Indian Ocean, with companies in Côte d'Ivoire, Benin, Cameroon, Mali, Madagascar and the Comoros. Its development plan aims to take that to 14 companies by setting up five new subsidiaries, making targeted acquisitions and raising capital in existing units. Health and personal accident cover is its largest line of business, and it sells policies through Dossongui's AFG Bank network as well as through digital channels and micro-insurance products.

"The investment by Mediterrania Capital Partners in AFG Assurances marks a defining step for our insurance business," said Abissa Kouakou Anzoua, chief executive officer of Atlantic Group. "Our ambition is clear: to make AFG Assurances a leading insurer in French-speaking Africa."

A second big bet on a West African financial group

MCP is a private equity firm with offices in Abidjan, Barcelona, Cairo, Casablanca, Malta and Mauritius, and about €1.2 billion ($1.34 billion) in assets under management. Its fourth fund, Mediterrania Capital IV Mid Cap, closed at €600 million ($672 million) in June 2025, backed by development lenders including the International Finance Corporation, the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, British International Investment and Germany's DEG.

The AFG deal comes a year after MCP led a €100 million ($112 million) investment in Coris Holding, the banking group controlled by Burkinabe billionaire Idrissa Nassa, alongside European development finance institutions.

"Our investment in AFG Assurances reflects our strong conviction about the growth potential of insurance in French-speaking Africa," said Maty N'Diaye, a partner at MCP. She said the group's established presence and access to AFG Bank's distribution network put it in a good position to build a leading insurance platform.

Hatim Ben Ahmed, MCP's managing partner, said the firm would work with the group to strengthen its governance, environmental and social standards and client protection, and to widen its base of policyholders, with a focus on first-time buyers, women and small businesses.

AFG Assurances operates under the rules of CIMA, the regional insurance regulator for 14 countries in West and Central Africa with more than 200 million people. Insurance penetration in the zone is about 1.5% of gross domestic product. The market grew about 9% a year between 2018 and 2024, reaching about €2.9 billion ($3.25 billion) in premiums.

Banks, insurers and cement

Dossongui founded Atlantic Financial Group, the banking and insurance holding of Atlantic Group, in 2006. The wider group also has interests in agriculture, agro-industry, hospitality and telecommunications, and in 2023 it moved into cement in Madagascar.

He has spent the past three years rebuilding a banking network. In late 2023 he completed the purchase of Banque Populaire de Côte d'Ivoire, and in September 2024 his AFG Holding took a majority stake in Germany-based Access Holding, adding microfinance banks in Liberia, Madagascar, Nigeria, Rwanda and Zambia. The group now has seven banks in French-speaking Africa, along with investment banking units in Central Africa and Mauritius. In January, Cameroon tapped AFG Bank Cameroon to refinance about CFA50 billion ($85 million) in state arrears.