INSETA launches broker development programme
Sandra Dunn, INSETA’s Chief Executive Officer.
INSETA's CEO Sandra Dunn, seated third from right with the brokers who qualified to participate in the SETA's Broker Development Programme.
On 27 February 2015, the Insurance Sector Education and Training Authority (INSETA) launched its new development programme to mentor and support small and medium (SME) independent brokerages within its sector.
INSETA’s Chief Executive Officer, Sandra Dunn, explained that the programme was a response to the many requests received country-wide. “These brokers face seemingly insurmountable odds such as increasing regulation, a need for skills business acumen, administration difficulties, a lack of resources and an uneven playing field.” Dunn added, “It is tougher for small brokers to attract and retain talent. Once employees have been trained, they tend to move on to other work opportunities.”
The INSETA Broker Development Programme’s purpose is twofold:
1. To invest in the growth and cultivation of brokerages, so as to expand the supply and quality of scarce and high-priority skills within the Insurance Sector; and
2. To enrich the industry and foster the country’s transformation, with a concerted focus on enterprise development and a standardisation of approaches to scalable broker development.
INSETA received 54 applications from brokerages across the country. Thirteen applicants were shortlisted and this was finally narrowed down to eight successful candidates.
All the businesses chosen for the programme are black-owned. The brokerages chosen are:
• Khanyisa Insurance Brokers
• RP Comprehensive Marketing Agency
• Sinani Funeral Scheme
• Rihlampfu Insurance Broker
• Marara Risk Solutions
• Kelello Financial Services (Pty) Ltd, Pat Ngutshane Brokers and
• Kutlo Marketing Agency.
Mr Solomon Nkuna, Managing Director of Rihlampfu in Giyani, Limpopo, said that he would use the opportunity to empower his community. “We are based in a rural area where unemployment is high. I would like to create jobs for the unemployed and show young people that they can create jobs for themselves; they don’t have to wait for the government.”
INSETA’s Broker Development Programme is divided into Project one: Broker Development Support, and Project two: Broker Development Research.
Project one consists of:
• Each brokerage receiving an assessment of the existing state of their business and hindrances to growth;
• A customised growth plan;
• A personalised growth implementation plan;
• Practical experience for business development support for the duration of the project;
• Specialist practice development consulting (product, marketing, accounting and legal);
• Best practice ‘on-going business performance reporting’; and
• Targeted mentoring and skills development, designed for the distinct needs of each business.
Project two’s Research Outcomes cover:
• Research design aligned to INSETA’s strategic aims;
• Best practice benchmarking and a feasibility study of broker development models (shared services, practice management training, business development and other key services);
• Engagement with key industry stakeholders, including SME brokers, government, Black Brokers Forum (BBF), insurance sector institutions and broker development practitioners; and
• A recommendation for an optimal leading practice and scalable approaches to broker development.
When asked how he felt about being chosen for the programme, Mr Sikheto Sambo from Marara Risk Solutions said, “I could not believe we made the cut. It was a rigorous process; a lot of information was required. We need someone to take us by the hand and show us how to operate professionally; someone to give us access to the markets,” he added, “this is the best thing INSETA has ever done.” In attendance at the launch in Johannesburg were The ASISA Enterprise Development Fund (ASISA); Edge Growth and Encore SA. INSETA has appointed ASISA to deliver the broker development programme.
For more information about INSETA, visit their website: www.inseta.org.za
