Under a challenging environment in the past two years, Botswana Insurance Holdings Limited Group maintained strong market positions in the face of stiff competition and an increasingly complex operating environment. This is according to the financial services group’s Chief Executive Catherine Lesetedi.
The good performance, according to Lesetedi is as a result of investment in innovation and technology that has helped the company to be competitive and relevant in the market.
In 2021, BIHL paid as much as P2.4 billion to clients, an achievement that speaks to the group’s aim of improving livelihoods of clients.
“At the BIHL Group, we frequently discuss using “strength in numbers,” both literally and figuratively, and Sanlam is an important component of that strength in numbers with a wide and significant impact in nations across Africa,” she said.
Lesetedi stated that through the partnership, they continue to harness the strengths and abilities of communities from different corners of their ecosystem. She is of the view that in today’s fast-paced environment, a “do-it-alone” approach is not the best strategy for growth. She added that hence, in the reality of today’s business landscape is that partnerships are key to better serving customers by merging talent, expertise, technology and purpose.
“We believe that collaboration and strategic partnerships are fundamental to improving business outcomes and having Sanlam as a majority stakeholder does not mean that they are taking away the business from us,” she said.
BIHL group’s top shareholders include South Africa’s financial behemoth Sanlam, which owns 41.22 percent of BIHL, while Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund (BPOPF) holds 19.92 percent and African Life Assurance Company has 17.21 percent. The local insurer group is made up of Botswana Life, Botswana Insurance Fund Management (BIFM) and also half owner of Botswana Insurance Company (BIC). In March 2022 it reported a surge in profit for the 2021 financial year, anchored by strong performance from subsidiaries.
