SUNU Group founder, Pathé Dione passes away @ 81

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

 

Pathé Dione, an icon of the African insurance industry, passed away yesterday, January 12, 2023 in Paris at the age of 81.

Dione left behind a large company, present in 17 African countries with over 4 081 employees, 26 life and non-life insurance companies, a bank, a microfinance company and two health risk management entities.

A graduate of the Centre des Hautes Etudes d’Assurance de Paris (CHEA), P. Dione spent a big part of his career as an insurer within the UAP group (now AXA), from which he acquired some of the life subsidiaries in 1998. It was at this point that he founded SUNU, which he managed and chaired for over 20 years.

In July 2022, he acquired a stake in the capital of the International Bank for Trade and Industry of Senegal (BICIS), a subsidiary of BNP Paribas.