Economy
Survey Foresees Further Growth for Africa’s Insurance Sector
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The opportunities for growth in Africa’s insurance industry are huge despite recent economic and political uncertainty, a report issued by PwC on Africa’s insurance industry has said.
It noted that the insurance industry has done well to adapt to continuous disruption, with technological advances now considered the most important global trend disrupting the industry.
The report, titled ‘Ready and Willing: African insurance industry poised for growth,’ further said despite the additional pressures of unrelenting regulatory and insurance accounting changes, and the huge costs associated with the changes, there are also some positive developments and opportunities for growth.
The survey comes at a time when economies on the African continent are starting to show signs of real growth on the back of recovering global commodity prices.
Victor Muguto, Long-term Insurance Leader for PwC Africa says: “The insurance industry across Africa continues to be one of the most disrupted, but at the same time the industry continues to innovate and adapt to take advantage of the many opportunities for growth that are also emerging.
“In the years following the global financial crisis, economic and political uncertainty across the continent slowed down economic and insurance sector growth. Despite this, Africa’s insurance market remains one of the least penetrated in the world and the opportunities for growth are tremendous.”
Top trends driving change in Africa’s insurance markets
Africa’s insurance industry is facing more disruption than any other industry, posing challenges for some while opening up business opportunities for others. The pace of change in the insurance industry has taken place more rapidly than originally anticipated and will accelerate further.
“Leading insurers are already implementing key strategies to focus on new customer behaviours and demographic shifts. The need to be agile in the face of a rapidly changing technological environment has never been more vital,” says Pieter Crafford, Financial Services Advisory Leader for PwC South Africa.
The survey identifies four main themes that are transforming the African insurance industry:
Technology and data ‘revolution’: Technology and data are now considered the most important global trend disrupting the industry, but they are also increasingly being used by the industry to accelerate growth. Across all of Africa, the increased use of technology, on the back of the exponential growth of mobile phones, has significantly contributed to the large amount of new customers and more tailored products. Technology presents insurers with powerful tools to better understand customer needs and expectations through data mining capabilities and artificial intelligence (AI).
However, it is expensive and not always easy for insurers to “go it alone”. Consequently, some insurers have formed partnerships with technology companies to improve operational efficiency and respond quickly to changing customer expectations. Technology, specifically mobile phones, social media, and data analytics are seen as the top enablers to increase access to new customers, at reduced cost and to analyse behavioural data, in order to design new, more appropriate products.
Regulatory and accounting changes: Behind technology, insurers also identified stringent risk based prudential capital and market conduct regulations as the second most disruptive issue. By now, most insurers are used to regulations and this has become “business as usual”. Insurers across the African continent have embraced the regulatory changes, and are ready and willing to comply with new legislation and regulations. But, while most insurers have adopted new ways of compliance, the introduction of IFRS 17 is also expected to add new pressure.
It is also positive to note that that the intensity of regulatory concerns is reducing among insurers. Fewer survey respondents (2017:61%) had concerns about the burden of regulation dampening risk appetite and stifling growth compared to 90% of respondents in 2014. Although the unrelenting regulatory changes come with increased costs and implementation challenges, they also present hidden opportunities for insurers to better manage risk, and allocate capital more appropriately. Some of the new regulations are expected to prompt insurers to redesign simpler and more appropriate products for customers. For example, the less onerous regulatory capital and conduct regulations being introduced by the pending Microinsurance framework in South Africa offer alternatives to reduce the costs of insurance at the lower end of the market
Convergence, the new “Scramble” for Africa’s customers: Changing demographics and social changes, in particular the rise of a middle class, are driving insurers, bankers, and non-traditional players such as retailers and mobile operators to compete for the power of owning customers and customer information. We have started to see a convergence of insurers and bankers around customers. While most of the major banks have had insurance operations for years, there has been a renewed interest by other banks to also start insurance operations. Likewise, some insurers are setting up separate banking operations, and mobile phone operations and retailers are pushing in. All of this is with the aim of owning more customers and cross selling various products to them.
In addition, insurers are also adopting multichannel distribution strategies and taking more direct ownership of their customer data and relationships. They are designing simpler products leaning towards technology based direct mobile and online channels of distribution. While the more complex products will still require intermediation, the use of brokers may gradually reduce as insurers invest in their own in-house channels.
Talent shortages – workforce of the future: Insurers also highlighted talent shortages as a top issue in our survey. This is notable in the areas of technology and actuarial skills. In order to attract and retain talent, insurers need to invest more in training their “workforce of the future”. Alongside this, employee expectations are changing. Employees of the future expect better work-life balance. The majority of insurers surveyed are already prepared for change, with 83% of survey respondents indicating that they either had prepared or were moderately prepared to establish a more flexible working culture to support employee work-life balance.
Insurers should not only be thinking about or investing in a workforce of the future. They should also start thinking about jobs that may not yet exist.
While the African insurance industry is going through significant change and client expectations are changing the rise of the new middle class and digital natives offers new opportunities for insurers, using technology, to better understand their customers and use customer data for more relevant product design and better pricing for risk. Insurers need to ensure that they can do so while navigating increasing regulatory compliance issues, overhauling legacy IT systems, and investing in a workforce of the future. Operational procedures and business structures will also need to be updated to become more efficient.
“Insurers across Africa face exciting new opportunities for growth on the back of a rising middle class and increased demand for new and innovative solutions. Most insurers know what to do – the winners will be those that are best at execution,” Crafford says.
“Insurers, who are client-centric, innovative, technologically up-to-date, and who invest in a workforce of the future, will lead the charge to increase insurance penetration levels in Africa,” Muguto concludes.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The first trading day of the week in the currency market was bearish for the Naira in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday, April 27.
Yesterday, it lost N5.80 or 0.43 per cent against the United States Dollar to trade at N1,364.24/$1, in contrast to the N1,358.44/$1 it was traded last Friday.
In the same vein, the Nigerian currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N13.70 to close at N1,847.72/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,834.02/£1, and slumped against the Euro by N11.56 to sell at N1,602.29/€1 versus N1,590.73/€1.
Also, the Nigerian Naira tumbled against the greenback during the trading day by N5 to quote at N1,385/$1 compared with the previous rate of N1,380/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it traded flat at N1,370/$1.
The poor performance of the domestic currency could be attributed to liquidity shortage at the official currency market on Monday, which came amid surging demand for international payments. At $76.50 million, interbank liquidity printed higher across 79 deals, up from the $43.572 million reported on Friday.
Nigeria’s gross external reserves declined to $48.45 billion amid a month-long decline in inflows, amid uncertainties in the global commodity market. The depletion of foreign reserves could be partly attributed to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s intervention in the FX market.
The market remains perturbed by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market, while boosters, including oil prices, continue to look rocky due to stalled discussions and unclear ceasefire negotiations between the US and Iran.
A look at the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (BTC) has been rejected near $79,000 three times in eight sessions, leaving the level as the de facto ceiling of its current trading range even as major cryptocurrencies trade lower over the past day. It lost 0.9 per cent to sell at $77,003.61.
Analysts say that upcoming US Federal Reserve policy decisions and top tech firms’ earnings this week could provide the catalyst to push bitcoin decisively above $80,000.
The market also continued to weigh Iran’s interim deal proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which failed to advance over the weekend. The White House said US officials were discussing the latest Iranian proposal but maintained “red lines” on any deal to end the eight-week war.
Solana (SOL) dropped 1.8 per cent to $84.25, Ripple (XRP) went down by 1.6 per cent to $1.39, Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $2,290.00, Binance Coin (BNB) declined by 0.5 per cent to $625.18, and Cardano (ADA) fell by 0.2 per cent to $0.2480.
However, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 2.0 per cent to $0.1002, and TRON (TRX) appreciated by 0.2 per cent to $0.3242, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
One of the leading salt makers in Nigeria, NASCON Allied Industries Plc, has set its eyes on some strategies aimed to deliver more value to shareholders.
The chief executive of the company, Mrs Aderemi Saka, said efforts are being made to surpass the performance of last year.
In the 2025 financial year, the organisation recorded a 27 per cent growth in revenue, while post-tax profit grew by over 100 per cent to N33.5 billion, with the earnings per share (EPS) expanding by 115 per cent to N12.41 from N5.77 Kobo in the previous year.
The impressive performance, attributed to a clear strategic vision, disciplined execution and sustained focus on cost-saving initiatives across production, logistics and fleet management, resulted in a 200 per cent increase in dividend payout to shareholders to N6 per share.
Mrs Saka, at the firm’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos, said the strategic priorities for the coming year include deeper cost optimisation, expanded market penetration, strengthened energy diversification and sustainability initiatives, as well as accelerated digital transformation and process automation.
Earlier, the chairman of NASCON, Mr Olakunle Alake, informed shareholders that the achievements for last year were due to improved operational efficiency, strict cost management and the dedication of the company’s workforce.
“The operating environment in 2025 was characterised by economic volatility, persistent inflation and structural changes across key sectors. Yet, NASCON remained resilient and strategically focused, delivering outstanding value to shareholders,” Mr Alake said.
He noted that operational sustainability remains a core pillar of the organisation’s strategy, stressing that during the year, NASCON introduced Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks into its logistics fleet to reduce fuel costs and minimise exposure to diesel price volatility.
In addition, the company’s state-of-the-art salt refinery, its largest production facility, now runs entirely on natural gas, significantly boosting efficiency while reinforcing NASCON’s commitment to environmental sustainability.
A director in the organisation, Mrs Tonya Lawani, emphasised that the firm remains firmly committed to the principles that have driven its excellent performance, noting that NASCON approaches the new financial year from a position of strength, with further opportunities for growth and improvement.
Speaking on behalf of shareholders, Mr Faruk Umar expressed strong confidence in the company’s trajectory, citing NASCON’s rising share price, which recently crossed the N100 mark, and projecting further appreciation.
He commended the quality of the Board and management team, noting that strong leadership and recent executive appointments have positioned the entity to deliver even greater value to all stakeholders.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Brent futures gained $2.90 or 2.8 per cent to trade at $108.23 a barrel on Monday as peace talks between the United States and Iran stalled and shipments through the Strait of Hormuz remained limited, keeping global oil supplies tight.
Also, the US West Texas Intermediate crude rose by $1.97 or 2.1 per cent to $96.37 per barrel after Iran reportedly offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but insisted US nuclear talks be postponed, a condition the Americans are unlikely to accept.
Iran presented the proposal through regional mediators to reopen the waterway and move toward ending the war first, while postponing nuclear negotiations. The proposal would separate shipping security from the dispute over uranium enrichment, where negotiations have deadlocked.
The stalled negotiations are leading to fears for the global economy as both nations are no closer to a lasting truce after US President Donald Trump cancelled American participation in talks with Iran.
President Trump discussed a new Iranian proposal on resolving the war with Iran with his top national security aides, with the conflict currently in a stalemate and energy supplies from the Middle East region reduced.
The market is also beginning to price the supply story beyond crude. Higher petrol and heating oil prices are feeding concern that the conflict is moving into transport, manufacturing, and consumer costs.
At least seven ships – mainly dry bulk vessels – have crossed the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours, in line with muted activity in recent days. That represents a fraction of the average 140 daily passages before the Iran war began on February 28, when around 20 per cent of global oil supplies passed through the strait.
In addition, six tankers loaded with Iranian oil have been forced back to Iran by the US blockade in recent days.
Also, Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the Iranian people for battling to stay independent in the face of US and Israeli pressure and said Russia would do all it could to help Iran.
Major global central banks are set to hold interest rates steady this week.
The European Central Bank (ECB) will meet on Thursday, with a ceasefire easing the pressure on it for an immediate interest rate hike. Higher interest rates increase consumer borrowing costs, which can reduce economic growth and oil demand.
Traders are betting that the US Federal Reserve, ECB, Bank of Japan, and Bank of England will all maintain rates at current levels.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism10 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking8 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn