Africa’s brokers must think beyond borders
Brokers, insurers, reinsurers and risk managers are under constant pressure to align their products and solutions with shifting client needs. This ongoing challenge set the tone for the 51st African Insurance Exchange (AIE 2025), held at the Sun City Conference Centre from 27 to 30 July 2025. Delegates were treated to a diverse two-day programme built around the theme ‘The Baobab Advantage: Multifaceted Growth and Continuous Evolution.’
A stronger, more inclusive industry
The theme references the enduring baobab tree, a powerful symbol of Africa’s adaptability, longevity and resilience. “We gather today to look into the future with hope and strategic intent,” said Insurance Institute of South Africa (IISA) CEO, Thokozile Mahlangu, during her brief welcome address. She described the conference as a platform for collaboration, innovation and shared learning, all in pursuit of a stronger, more inclusive African insurance industry.
Mahlangu commented on the future of the industry, with a strong focus on diversity, skills development and youth inclusion. She also shared a snapshot of the conference’s demographics: nearly 1200 delegates from over 20 countries, with 52% identifying as Black, 41% as female, and 37% aged between 36 and 45. Delegates were encouraged to prioritise meaningful engagement, with Mahlangu noting, “This is more than just a conference. It is a community. It is a catalyst.”
Collin Molepe, outgoing President of the IISA, was next to the stage to introduce the keynote speaker. He delivered a lively and light-hearted tribute to Mteto Nyati, currently Executive Chairman of Business Systems Group (BSG) and Chair of the Eskom Board, recognising him as the embodiment of the AIE 2025 theme of multifaceted growth and evolution. Molepe praised Nyati’s track record of ethical leadership across major organisations and celebrated his wider influence as an author, mentor and advocate for inclusive growth.
From shopkeeper’s son to Yale
Nyati’s personal story, from shopkeeper’s son to Yale World Fellow, was described as a powerful symbol of authenticity and purpose-driven leadership. The IISA conferred a special recognition award on him for his contribution to business, ethical leadership and the advancement of South Africa’s economy and society.
Nyati opened his keynote with a reminder that leadership is not about status or style, but outcomes. “At the core, leadership is really about results,” he said. True leaders, he argued, bring clarity, direction and accountability. Drawing on the words of Zig Ziglar, he stressed the importance of self-management as a foundation for effective leadership. He then outlined three traits for personal mastery: self-awareness, values and purpose.
“If you know deep down that you don’t like people, why are you signing up for a leadership role?” he asked, explaining that leadership was about serving others, not yourself, and that it started with listening. Listening, he said, is a form of communication that conveys: ‘I see you, you exist, and what you are saying matters to me.’ He encouraged delegates to interrogate their personal values and determine whether these values helped or hindered their progress.
Nyati reflected on his time at Eskom, where the problem was not ageing infrastructure but a broken organisational culture. “The biggest problem we faced in Eskom was a culture in a state of dysfunction,” he said, before adding that South Africa did not lack vision, but execution. His message was clear: effective leadership is results-driven, psychologically safe and inclusive by design.
Key messages for intermediaries
The day-one presentations that will most resonate with FAnews readers focused on insurance, insurance broking and retirement. In the first, titled ‘Fortifying the Insurance Industry’, Prof Adrian Saville of GIBS South Africa and Dr Masiye Banda of Capital Consult were put through their paces by facilitator Tumelo Mothotoane.
Saville painted a stark picture of South Africa’s economic drag on business growth. “The single biggest driver of aggregate company performance is the external environment,” he said, warning that businesses need to build resilience not just through systems but mindset. “Every business gets punched in the face … resilience is the capability to survive that punch,” he said. The professor called for risk management to be embedded early in business design, not tacked on later.
Dr Banda described fraud as “a cancer” threatening insurers’ solvency and stability across the region. “You cannot eradicate fraud completely, but you can reduce it to acceptable levels,” he said, stressing the need for strong governance and an integrated risk response across insurers, regulators and law enforcement. Banda highlighted Zambia’s 6% GDP growth as a driver of insurance expansion but warned that without collaboration and proper data-sharing, fraudsters would continue to exploit gaps.
Placing two-pots on review
The retirement reform discussion took place in a breakaway room and featured Andrew Davidson, of Old Mutual Multi-Managers, and Dr Azar Jammine, Chief Economist at Econometrix, with Butsi Tladi, President of the Financial Intermediaries Association (FIA), as facilitator. This discussion unpacked some of the real-world implications of South Africa’s two-pot retirement reform, introduced in September 2024.
Dr Jammine praised the system’s intent to prevent premature erosion of retirement savings, calling it “an innovative development which has not been seen all that much in the rest of the world.” He explained that while R57 billion had been withdrawn from retirement funds since the solution’s inception, this amounted to less than 1% of total assets. “Had it not been for the two-pot retirement scheme, the economy would have been in recession in early 2025,” he contended, linking the first-year two-pot withdrawals to a short-lived retail boost.
Davidson commented on the system’s long-term value. “We do think that in the long run, retirement outcomes should be roughly double where they are at the moment,” he said, highlighting the positive shift in member engagement. Tladi reminded delegates that the reform seeks to balance present-day needs with future outcomes. Overall, the panel agreed that public education, responsible access and stronger enforcement against employer non-compliance were all critical for long-term success.
Africa’s borderless brokers
Your writer has singled out the ‘Borderless Broker’ panel discussion, expertly steered by Peter Olyott of Willis South Africa, as the highlight on the first day. FAnews will cover the discussion in greater detail in a separate newsletter, but the following snippets should whet your appetite until then. The panel explored how African brokers can position themselves to operate regionally and globally, despite rising regulatory headwinds.
Thuli Majodina of Aon South Africa emphasised the tension between harmonising insurance markets and protecting local economies. “As much as we want to open borders up, we have a responsibility to help economies grow,” she said, citing Africa’s low insurance penetration rate. She noted that major infrastructure projects often come with pre-conditions to reinsure abroad, pushing local capacity and governance aside. Her call was for regional risk pooling before capacity is ceded offshore.
Cameron Cupido, CEO of Reinsurance Solutions, offered a view from the reinsurance sector, stressing the need for collaboration, not confrontation, with regulators. “Reinsurance is a source of capital capacity that is required for us to grow our insurance coverage on the continent; we cannot do it without global reinsurers,” he said. He warned of growing protectionism and inconsistent local requirements that threaten to fragment Africa’s potential. He also identified the lack of technical insurance and reinsurance skills as a major constraint.
Navigating culture and distribution in Africa
The panel converged on the need to localise solutions, not just products. Majodina urged brokers to adapt culturally, using funeral insurance as an example. This product is big in South Africa, but a no-go in Nigeria. She added that limited connectivity in parts of East Africa meant face-to-face distribution channels remained critical.
Cupido commented on the reinsurance industry’s role in product innovation, citing parametric cover in Zambian agriculture. The path to borderless broking, the panel agreed, goes beyond capital and compliance to solving for the myriad persistent cross-border inconsistencies.
Writer’s thoughts:
Cross-border broking, insurance fraud, leadership, retirement reforms and skills development all featured strongly on the AIE 2025 programme. Which of these themes strikes you as the most urgent in the South African context? Please comment below, interact with us on X at @fanews_online or email us your thoughts [email protected].
