About
We partner with insurance leaders to transform the businesses they run.
Cedar Operating Partners works alongside shareholders, boards, regulators, investors and management teams across Nigeria’s insurance industry. We bring operating expertise to the moments that matter most: recapitalisation, restructuring, mergers, governance reform and turnaround.
Who we are
An operating partner, not just an adviser.
Advisers diagnose. Operators deliver. Cedar Operating Partners is built to do both. We sit alongside management and boards through the work itself, rather than handing off a report at the end of it.
We partner, not pitch
Our work begins with shareholders, boards, regulators and investors who have a defined problem and the mandate to act on it.
We bring the people
Engagements are staffed by senior operators (Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, former chief executives, and subject-matter specialists) matched to each mandate.
We measure value
Outcomes are defined upfront: capital raised, integration milestones met, turnaround thresholds cleared, governance gaps closed. We are accountable to those numbers.
Our work spans
Nine connected disciplines across the insurance value chain.
Most mandates draw on two or three of these. Each engagement is assembled to fit, not pulled off a shelf.
Corporate Restructuring
Group structure, operating model and balance sheet redesign.
Capital Raising
Equity, debt and hybrid instruments matched to the business plan.
Mergers & Acquisitions
Deal-side and integration-side support across the full lifecycle.
Regulatory Advisory
Supervisory engagement, licensing and compliance posture.
Turnaround Management
Performance recovery for businesses under operational or financial stress.
Operational Excellence
Process, cost and service design that holds up under scrutiny.
Digital Transformation
Technology, data and channel modernisation with measurable outcomes.
Governance Enhancement
Board effectiveness, committee design and disclosure quality.
Interim Executive Leadership
Senior operators stepping into C-suite roles during transitions.
Why the EiR programme exists
Senior operators, available to the right mandate.
The Entrepreneur-in-Residence Programme is how Cedar Operating Partners brings the right person to the right engagement, without the constraints of a full-time executive role.
Curated, not recruited
EiRs are selected for fit with active and anticipated mandates. We invest time in matching, not just sourcing.
Project-based by design
Participation does not create an employment relationship. Assignments range from a few weeks to several months.
Aligned with availability
Engagements are matched to expertise and capacity. EiRs choose what they accept.
Conflict-managed
Every engagement begins with a conflicts check. Where conflicts exist, an EiR is not placed on that mandate.
The reform context
Why now. NIIRA 2025.
The Nigeria Insurance Industry Reform Act 2025 has accelerated recapitalisation, strategic investments, mergers and acquisitions, business restructuring, corporate governance reforms and operational transformation. The bar for experienced leadership has moved up with it.
Recapitalisation
Insurers are meeting higher capital thresholds while strengthening the businesses underneath them.
Consolidation
Mergers and acquisitions are reshaping the competitive landscape across life, health and general lines.
Governance
Boards are adapting to a higher bar for oversight, risk and disclosure. The regulator is watching.
Transformation
Operating models, technology stacks and distribution networks are being rewritten in parallel.
How we work
Discreet by mandate. Honest before optimistic.
The work happens inside boardrooms, supervisory dialogues and integration committees. Confidentiality is the baseline. Outcomes carry real consequences.
Confidentiality is the baseline
Clients, transactions and partners are not named publicly without explicit consent.
Capability over claims
We describe what we are equipped to do. Track record is shared in private under the same standard.
Outcomes are owned
Every mandate carries named objectives. Progress is reviewed against those, not against activity.
Part of Cedar Group
Cedar Operating Partners is a member of Cedar Group.
Cedar Group operates a family of specialist businesses across finance, advisory and operating disciplines. Visit cedargroup.ng to learn more.
Be part of the transformation
Your experience. Their future.
Submit an expression of interest to join the Cedar Entrepreneur-in-Residence network. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.