Credeq Africa Appoints Jeanne Hamman as Head of Finance

Jeanne Hamman

Credeq Africa has appointed Jeanne Hamman as Head of Finance, strengthening its executive leadership as the specialist underwriting management agency (UMA) continues to expand its guarantees and trade credit capabilities across key sectors of the African economy.

Her appointment forms part of Credeq Africa’s continued investment in building a specialist leadership team to support sustainable underwriting growth and disciplined portfolio management.

Hamman brings extensive experience in financial services and insurance, having spent nearly a decade at Lombard Insurance, where she served as Financial Manager within the Guarantee  and Trade Credit Division. Her appointment follows the transition of Lombard’s guarantee and trade credit business into the Credeq Africa UMA structure in July 2025.

Hamman began her career in financial services after completing her articles at Deloitte, where she gained experience across the insurance and financial services sectors. She later joined Lombard Insurance, where she developed deep expertise in financial oversight and insurance performance within the guarantee division before transitioning to Credeq Africa following the establishment of the UMA.

In her role, Hamman oversees the financial management of the business, supporting strategic decision-making and ensuring financial discipline within a model that differs significantly from traditional insurers.

“The UMA environment is far more entrepreneurial and agile,” Hamman explains. “While we still operate within a strong compliance framework, we also need to ensure that our operational structure remains efficient and sustainable.”

Unlike traditional insurers, UMAs manage underwriting performance on behalf of a capital provider, allowing specialist teams to focus on disciplined risk selection and portfolio performance.

For Hamman, the transition from a traditional insurer to the UMA environment has provided an opportunity to apply her experience in new ways.

“My background within the insurer environment gives me a strong understanding of what carriers look for and the risks they are managing,” she says. “That insight helps ensure that we maintain strong alignment with our carrier while supporting the growth of the business.”

A key part of Hamman’s role involves interpreting financial and underwriting data to support informed decision-making across the organisation. By analysing metrics such as loss ratios, operational costs and portfolio performance, finance provides insights that help guide underwriting strategy.

“In many ways finance acts as a reality check for the business,” she explains. “We translate financial metrics into insights that help ensure we are writing sustainable business.”

Balancing growth and underwriting discipline are particularly important in the guarantee and trade credit environment, where economic cycles can influence sector performance.

“Brokers naturally want to write more business, while capital providers want to maintain low loss ratios,” Hamman says. “Our focus is always on writing quality business rather than simply chasing premium.”

Within Credeq Africa, collaboration across teams plays an important role in maintaining this balance. Finance, underwriting, legal and other specialist functions work closely together to structure solutions that remain commercially viable while meeting regulatory and compliance requirements.

“We operate in a very collaborative environment,” Hamman notes. “Different teams come together to ensure that solutions work both financially and from a risk perspective.”

Despite operating largely behind the scenes, Hamman believes the work undertaken in the guarantee and trade credit space plays a critical role in supporting broader economic activity.

Guarantees and trade credit often operate behind the scenes,” Hamman says. “But they play a critical role in enabling projects such as roads and bridges, infrastructure development and renewable energy across the economy.

As Credeq Africa continues to develop within the UMA landscape, Hamman says the focus remains on maintaining strong financial discipline while supporting the company’s broader strategic ambitions.

“In this environment, the ability to combine financial insight with strong collaboration across the business is essential to building a sustainable and resilient underwriting operation.”