It was a delight to host the first African Leadership University, event in Johannesburg on 20 August.
ALU is an exciting social entrepreneurship venture which is on a mission to produce 3 million African leaders over the next 50 years. The university set up a campus in Mauritius in 2015 and its second campus was established in Kigali, Rwanda in 2017.
The SOI is a collaboration of insurance companies and industry stakeholders across the continent. Its purpose is to attract and empower talented individuals, and develop them into leaders who can pursue meaningful careers in a vibrant and growing African insurance industry, which we believe will lead to high social and economic impact.
The ‘Future of Insurance’ Series
The ‘Future of Insurance’ Series is a community event that brings together high-impact leaders and future leaders to explore the likely impact of digital and technology transformation on the traditional insurance model. The purpose of these events is to stimulate new ways of thinking, inspire innovation and create a platform for stakeholders in our ecosystem to network and forge collaborative partnerships.
The Future of Insurance Distribution
The theme for the event was The Future of Insurance Distribution where we heard from three stimulating speakers about what we can expect from the insurer of the future. The lack of customer-centricity, a superficial use of digital technology and insufficient leverage of data assets are among the shortcomings that stuck in my mind.
And while many berated the sloth of the industry in keeping itself relevant, there are some exemplars to celebrate, such as Pineapple – the first peer-to-peer insurance platform in South Africa and number of shining stars further afield including the pioneers at Lemonade who have broken long-held industry paradigms to give us hope for an industry that will reinvent itself to put its customers first.
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Marjorie