Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
Prudential Plc has announced the appointment of Mr Emmanuel Mokobi Aryee as the new Chief Executive Officer for Africa to oversee the operations of Prudential in its eight African markets.
The appointment seeks to centralise Prudential’s operations in Africa as well as strengthen and grow the business in markets where it currently operates.
In a statement, Mr Solmaz Altin, the Prudential Managing Director, Strategic Business Group, said he was pleased with Mr Aryee’s new role, noting that it will take effect on January 1, 2023.
“Africa is a strategic growth driver for our Group; building the talent and capacity to drive the next level of business growth is key and will foster greater efficiency and effective decision-making to help us deliver on our purpose of helping people in Africa get the most out of life by making healthcare and financial security more accessible and affordable,” Mr Solmaz added.
Currently, Mr Aryee is the Regional Chief Executive Officer for two regions: East & Central and West & Southern Africa.
The appointee is a well-known industry veteran with more than 29 years of experience in commercial leadership in Africa. His past experience includes turning around businesses on the African continent, moving Prudential to the number one market position in some of our countries, and gaining recognition as an innovative player. Over the years, he has nurtured employees and created room for talent to thrive.
Data from the Swiss Re Institute ranks the African continent as the second-fastest growing insurance market in the world after Latin America, with a total value of $68 billion. Yet, Africa has a large uninsured population, as reflected in the low insurance penetration levels currently at 2.8 per cent. This points to significant headroom for the expansion of the underwriting market, also given the population is expected to double to 2 billion by 2050.
To this end, Prudential noted that as a purely Asia and Africa-focused business, “we are investing in people and technology to build the capacity to serve more customers on the continent.”
Prudential serves over 1.7 million customers in Africa through a distribution network of more than 13,000 agents and 600 bank branches. After entering Ghana in 2013, the underwriter is now present in eight countries – Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Nigeria.
“We are confident that the Africa business will continue to thrive under the stewardship of Mokobi,” the company noted.
