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Allan Mafabi is not all just talk. He is practical too. He has grown Britam Insurance tenfold in 10 years and is now eyeing the top. In this interview with Muhereza Kyamutetera, the Executive Editor of CEO East Africa Magazine, he shares his story, lessons learnt, inspirations, fears and hopes.
I am sure very many have different ways they look at you- but as a person, how do you describe yourself? What is your leadership/management style?
I look at myself as somebody who is very goal-oriented; somebody who is very focused on what I want to achieve. Somebody who is a go-getter, because I go for it; and I don’t leave anything unturned. I give my all and that’s what I always challenge my team to do. If you give less than 100%, what are you going to do with the balance? If you don’t give your all, it is not like you are going to save the balance or give it to someone. When you do not give your all, you’re cheating yourself; cheating your employer, cheating your God and your family.
In terms of what kind of a leader I am, that is a moving target because I believe, whether transformational leadership, inspirational leadership, democratic leadership etc, all these are academic styles of leadership but in reality, it is always a blend, depending on where you are and the circumstances. There is no mutually exclusive type of leadership.
But as a person, I believe I’m mainly a transformational leader because I’ve transformed this company. I’ve transformed several people and with a proven track record. As you will see later, from where I got this company from to where we’ve got it today- it has been a total transformation, so I just don’t use the word loosely.
With transformation, it’s not just one thing. It is a multitude of things on a personal, industry and global level. Your thinking is not just focused on only one thing and or the task at hand but you also have to be able to juggle other balls, at the same time. Looking at where the business is, the emerging risks that the business may face, the opportunities as well, where are you going to get your next deal- that kind of thinking. Then you inculcate that, into your team. So transformation is about how you change the people’s mindsets because to transform the business, you need the people. It is an entirely wholesome game.
Looking back, what would you say has been the biggest turning point in your career, without which you probably wouldn’t be where you are?
I think one of the biggest things that happened to me is my time at the African Trade Insurance (ATI), which has since rebranded to African Trade & Investment Development Insurance (ATIDI). ATIDI is a multilateral organization, owned by African Countries and funded by the IDA-World Bank to provide political and credit risk insurance to help attract FDIS into Africa. It offers a range of insurance products/guarantees focused on increasing trade and investments in Africa. No other player in the market was covering political risks at the time⏤ATIDI is what the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) is to the World Bank.
During my time at ATI, we supported projects like the Kalangala Infrastructure Services. People don’t know just how much insurance supports these projects. That was one of my biggest stepping stones in the transformation of my insurance career. It gave me access to work with some of the global game changers in insurance, such as the Lloyd’s of London.
It opened up my mind to bigger things I’d never thought of about insurance. I was the first Ugandan to run their Ugandan office and that transformed my thinking. At the time, war was a permanent exclusion in our policies but right, now everybody is covering war, political violence, terrorism, strikes etc, it was a permanent exclusion back then. I started those covers in Uganda during my five years at ATI. Anybody who had a treaty that was covering political violence, during elections, we covered many companies here as well as investors coming in at the time. This realisation transformed my perspective, revealing the significant role the insurance sector plays beyond merely offering primary insurance policies. The sector supports the funding of various energy and infrastructure projects by providing political risks and credit risk insurance, which covers risks such as confiscation, expropriation, nationalisation, and deprivation. These insurance solutions are essential for attracting foreign investors to fund transformative projects across Africa. As we know, Africa offers substantial returns on investments and is poised to become the next global growth frontier. However, concerns about political, investment, and credit risks—whether perceived or real—have historically hindered the continent from receiving its fair share of Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs). This dynamic, however, is rapidly changing. Africa is increasingly becoming a top destination for FDIs, as we strive to add value to our abundant natural resources. As President Museveni often emphasises, this is crucial for transforming Africa and realising its full potential.
It is now about 10 years since you assumed leadership of Britam Insurance Uganda. It has been 10 years of transformational growth. Looking back at when you joined what were your anxieties at the time? And have they come to pass?
To be honest, that’s not a question I am going to struggle with. I will be very sincere with you, because, I’ve been privileged over the years to work with some very great leaders who inspired me, and made me believe in myself. You know, when you hear your leader saying, when I look at you, I look at myself just a few years ago; even the kind of books they were encouraging me to read, you can sense that they were already preparing me for the boardroom.
By the time I got this role, I was more than prepared and ready for it. And that speaks from the time I applied. In my application, I was very straight. I wrote in my application that “I am looking forward to an opportunity to demonstrate to you, that there’s absolutely no one else ⏤ and I mean, that with all humility, who will do this job better than me”. And I was serious.
When I was given the opportunity to be interviewed, I had a clear game plan in mind. I had thoroughly prepared and knew exactly what I wanted to convey, ensuring that everything I said was genuine. I didn’t want to leave any room for error. Thanks to God, I was offered this exciting job. From the moment I started, I hit the ground running, and the results have been outstanding. This success is largely due to the incredible support from my team, who enabled me to fly year in, and year out.
Your story and your deep knowledge about yourself, speak a lot about the importance of preparation and self-discovery. How important is it to be able to discover yourself⏤ knowing your strengths and weaknesses?
I think you hit it, right head-on, because that’s it exactly. Self-discovery is the first step in every leadership journey. If you remember Johari’s window, there are things about you that both you and others know; things others know about you that you don’t; things that you know about yourself but others don’t and things that neither you nor others know. When you take on self-discovery and it’s a continuous journey, you realize your weaknesses, your strengths, your blind spots and then what you need to do to either get rid of your weaknesses, clear your blind spots and elevate your strengths. It is from that, that you get confidence. Self-confidence and self-belief are extremely important. I tell that to all the upcoming leaders that I meet. I also tell them to keep reading and keep learning.
In my case, I was more than ready for the role because I believed in myself, I knew I was going to transform the business because I had identified where the gaps were. So having confidence in yourself, discovering yourself and knowing the areas that need to be worked on is key because there are no shortcuts. Once you do that, then your confidence levels are good. That’s why I say, learn, read, learn, read, unlearn & relearn. The more you know the subject you’re talking about, the more comfortable and confident you are about yourself around people and that is a key leadership trait and an inspiration to others who look up to you.
Looking at the last 10 years as the Chief Executive of Britam Uganda, what would you say are the key highlights for the business and yourself in these 10 years?
The time I joined, on December 16th 2013, that year we did UGX8 billion as total revenue. Bottom line, in terms of profitability, we posted a loss of UGX2 billion. This company had posted losses of over Ugx. 2Bn for 3 consecutive years before I joined, so my work was cut out.
We turned around the business to profitability in my first year- 2014 through the performance of the Team and our Frontline Soldiers (The Agents). We had and always have great support, particularly from the Insurance Brokers. They knew who I was & what I stood for as a business leader, and in turn, trusted and supported me because they knew that I keep my word. I assured them that Claims are the real game to play and we were focused on being the Top in Claims Service among others. I am and will always be thankful to the Brokers for their trust & support to this date and I know for many more years to come.
At the time we had a market share of 2% and we were number 17 in the market. Within four years, we were number 4 in the market with about 10% market share. Fast-forward, to last year, we did UGX 80 billion. That’s a 10-fold growth of the business in 10 years. The companies that were here when we came and had very big brands that were 2-3 times our size are now within reach and we’re playing in the same space. I thank them for the challenges they kept throwing at us that made us work harder and become better at everything that we do.
It’s very humbling that we got the company from UGX8 billion top-line and a loss of UGX2 billion for three straight years, to USG80 bn GWP and a profit of UGX11 billion last year.
The other key milestone is that before the regulator in 2019 introduced the cash and carry regulations as provided under the Insurance Act 2017⏤ whereby premiums must be paid on or before the policy date or renewal of the policy in full, as Britam we had started the cash and carry journey much earlier- because if you are to transform the industry, you have to lead by example and to do that, you need to take some tough and often difficult decisions that seem to go against logic. Some customers and industry players said it would crush the business and the industry, but it was the right thing to do. I thank a number of Broker CEOs who fully supported us on this journey and also transformed the thinking of their Teams to help improve the industry image. Some customers who had not fully paid premiums for their policies would complain about not receiving their claims and would raise significant concerns when a loss occurred. On the other hand, because companies were not collecting premiums on time, they also struggled to make timely payments, creating a vicious cycle in our industry. However, we are now a much stronger industry, and I am always thankful to the CEO of IRA for firmly enforcing the Cash & Carry policy. This has greatly improved the industry’s image, with most insurers now having liquidity and capital adequacy ratios exceeding 200%, in line with IRA guidelines.
We lead by example and have become arguably one of the most liquid companies, a status we maintain as reflected in our audited numbers. We have exceptional liquidity and solvency. While we may not yet be number one in terms of top-line revenue (GWP) and profit before tax (PBT), our strong liquidity gives us an outstanding claims-paying ability that continues to drive our growth. It’s also possible that we rank highly in profitability, especially under the new IFRS17 standards. Previously, comparing companies was difficult due to varied practices, but with IFRS17 and other new financial reporting standards, direct comparisons are now feasible. The business has undergone a total makeover. Some of the companies that were larger than us, we have overtaken and there are now only two or three companies remaining for us to get to the top of the Industry in all parameters. That gives me satisfaction, but then we are not resting because the minute you blink, you are ousted. It’s like in F1 racing. You blink and you are off the track and out of the race.
Of course when you have been racing this fast to the top, that puts you on the radar of the closest competitors too. In this business, we never underestimate anybody because they may take your lunch right under your face before you know it.
Even, when we entered the market, some players that hadn’t done their homework well about us⏤ had written us off, only to wake up and realise a little too late that we were closing in and could be seen in their driving mirrors.
Other than introducing cash and carry ahead of time, what are the other pointers that you attribute this runaway success to?
Outstanding Claims Service! This is actually the major driver of our growth and winning the Brokers & Bank’s trust and ultimately our clients’ trust as well. We got where we are because some of the things we were doing, nobody else was doing; the kind of things that people said if you did, you would collapse. The background to these radical changes was that I had, in my ealy years in Insurance, seen companies in the market, some⏤ big companies declare profit and dividend but then they had to get a cash overdraft to pay a dividend because they didn’t have the liquidity due to huge Premium debtors. Claims would occur but because some of these companies were not liquid enough to pay their reinsurance premiums in time, they would be challenged looking for money to pay claims and unfortunately, some have since closed.
We had to do something to change that and we changed that, mainly through enforcing cash and carry among other key initiatives that brought support from other key industry players like brokers. Cash and carry started in 2019. By then, because we had started earlier, with a market debt ratio averaging between 30% and 50%; ours was 7%, which means that all the premiums we wrote, we collected. For example, we did UGX67,000,000,000 four to five years ago and our debt ratio was only 0.1% (Ugx. 67M). There are very few Insurance companies in the world with those figures. It is that high level of discipline that has kept us thriving. Collecting all your Premiums early, and paying Reinsurers timely allows you to keep your promises- swiftly and happily pay your claims when they fall due and that is what we are good at doing hence the support of the Brokers & Banks and the resultant growth.
When it comes to claims, my people know – that a good insurance company pays its claims on time and with a smile. The entire Claim experience is great andthis is what enadeared us to brokes & clients. What are we as an insurance company if we are not paying our claims promptly? And we can do that because we have the money that our dear clients have paid us timely- we pay all our claims and reinsurers on time. I, in turn, expect the same quick turnaround time from my reinsurers when claims occur- I want my payment without any back & forth.
Before I came into this business as a leader, there was a practice of just exchanging credit notes between insurers and reinsurers or even amongst ourselves as insurers in the industry depending on how much business we are exchanging under Facultative Insurance. We changed that. If I give you business, treat me like any other customer. Pay me when losses occur and I will pay you when losses occur, the same with Premiums.
The regulator allows for up to 30 days or longer to settle a substantial claim exceeding UGX 5 billion. However, we recently expedited the payment of UGX 17 billion for a significant fire claim in the Industrial Area, completing the process within two weeks. We did not wait for the reinsurer’s payment, which we received afterwards. This demonstrates our commitment to prompt and efficient claims service.
For the small claims, my target is 24 hours. We are succeeding in that for some and for others we are failing because of other challenges like technology/connectivity. Right now, we have come from one week to 5 days, then 3 days and we are now at about 2 days- once all the paperwork and the valuation are done- it takes on average 2 days to pay. But we are working towards having it done the same day. That is why we are also deploying technology and even including mobile money so that customers get their money on the same day. We were the first company to abandon payment by cheque because it takes longer for clients to get their money, especially on weekends and public holidays.
Ten years ago, when you became CEO, I am sure there were things you wanted to do/achieve. Looking back, how much of this do you say has been achieved?
The first thing for me was building my team. See, when you are recruiting a team, the first thing you look out for is culture-fit. I didn’t have the privilege to build my team from scratch because I found an existing team but I must add that it was a great Team as mentioned before. So the first thing I had to do was transform their thinking; their mindset. The reason it’s called a mindset is that you can unset it and reset it and we did this very well and our transformation journey got off to a cracking start
In our business, the most important thing is customer service experience; and who offers the service – it is the people. So, until you transform them, you won’t be able to put all the ideas you have for the business into action. So I started by having a conversation with each of them to understand their aspirations, priorities, hopes and fears as well as expectations. What inspires them? I needed to understand what they considered success from their perspective.
Once I understood this, I then looked at the processes that we go through to deliver this high-quality customer service experience that I wanted to be delivered. I went to individuals and then the departments. By the time I was done with this process- and believe me, we had very deep and sometimes hard conversations- we were all aligned. That’s how we came up with the 05 am club- when we are all up and by 07 am the office is full and our meetings are done by 08 am and by 09 am we are all out there. We are a small number of people but because of this efficiency, people thought we were so many because we are all executing a very clear strategy to transform the business. Everyone on the frontline is fully armed to deliver.
Our business is largely relationships. Starting, building, and nurturing relationships with our intermediaries, brokers and banks. We spent and do spend so much time speaking to the actual customers and partners, especially the brokers who control about 67% of our business and now most recently, the banks. Having the right conversations with the right people, helped us in the process of transformation.
About the industry landscape- what has changed in these 10 years? Would you say we are changing for the better? And how does that inform the future of the future?
In terms of the transformation of the industry along the way, a lot of things have happened. Of course, apart from that ATI journey, we talked about cash and carry, and then when I was the Uganda Insurers Associatio (UIA) Chairman, Bancassurance opened up. I remember I and Patrick Mwheire, then the Uganda Bankers Asscociation (UBA) chairman, called a big meeting between our members and theirs to work out how to make Bancassurance work because although banking and insurance are cousins- we had until then been distant cousins. We also discussed the subject of Insurance Premium Financing (IPF) to help Clients with Premium Funding at very low rates since these are guaranteed funds. We’re yet to make great strides here but the journey is underway and will soon see great tasty fruits to support our clients in Premium financing at affordable rates.
With that Bancassurance transformation, banks are now playing a greater role in the insurance industry and are becoming close Cousins to the Insurers as it is in the first world.
There is also marine insurance- for a long time, much of insurance especially imports have been done externally- CIF Mombasa. We started conversations and close engagements with the government because this was putting a strain on our currency. Why couldn’t it be done here? Besides, when you have a claim, isn’t it easier to claim here than with a Chinese or Japanese insurer? That conversation has since yielded results, particularly with the great support from the IRA CEO who has led this initiative from the frontline, the Ministry Of Finance and the URA Executive Director and his Le
eadership along with the business community and the clearing & forwarding agents leadership who have all been very supportive. We started the Industry Marine Consortium and from the next Financial year, we should see great results in this area with all imports locally insured to the support of the business community with timely claims settlement in case of losses instead of letting them wait to claim from foreign suppliers and/or their foreign Insurers. This also means more revenues for the industry, more jobs for Ugandans & more taxes for the government in addition to reducing undue pressure on the Uganda Shillings by buying Dollars to pay for insurance from foreign suppliers.
Let us support ourselves. Let us stop donating foreign currency by continuing to pursue CIF and strictly import on C&F and buy Insurance locally and your Claims will be settled promptly since this is an Industry initiative and all Insurers are involved as ONE, thanks to the CEO IRA.
Third-party insurance used to be a problem but now we have an industry-wide digital platform where insurance can be purchased, again, thanks to the great work by the IRA. Next, we are looking at digitising stickers. Police should be able to tap into this platform to see who has insurance or not. The digitisation agenda is also extending to micro-insurance.
There is a lot we can do. The transformation agenda never ends. That’s why I said earlier that in the industry, there are many challenges, but there is also a lot of headroom for us to work together and make a big difference.
What else needs to change to unlock the full industry potential? What are some of the challenges of the industry that seem to have persisted in the last 10 years?
I’ll start with marine, then go to Motor third-party insurance.
On Marine Insurance, as noted above, we have made significant progress – thanks to the regulator again. They’ve been very fundamental and instrumental. Working closely with the Uganda Insurers Association, the IRA led a team to Nairobi to learn from Kenya; and to learn from their experience so we don’t repeat the mistakes they made; we are severally engaged with the Ministry of Finance and the Uganda Revenue Authority. IRA has done a great job. So last year, if you heard the minister’s Budget statement, it mentioned, that we’re hoping July this year, is when local marine insurance takes off. We are doing it as an industry to avoid this unnecessary competition so that we give the clients, the service they deserve. Our business community should see the value we’re adding, they should be able to see that they have been wasting their money by insuring abroad. We are hoping that can get off the ground this year.
Regarding Motor third party, that conversation was led by the IRA & the World Bank, then with the business case analysis are at an advanced stage where we are discussing the price. What we all agree on is that when somebody, God forbid, is killed in an accident, the current UGX1 million provided in the law is not enough compensation. But the other challenge is, if people are struggling to pay what we are charging now, will they now be able to pay the new price? So that’s what has been holding us but I believe that probably within the next year or so, you will be able to see a change in that space.
One of the things that I am proud of, during my time as UIA Chairman, we discussed and signed an MOU with the URA. For the first time, the industry got an MOU that guides our working relationship with URA. We sat down together with the leadership under John Musinguzi (and I am very thankful to him) and we arrived at an MoU that establishes a good working relationship with URA. Even though we were already one of the most compliant industries, we are now even more compelled as an industry to ensure that our members continue to increase compliance levels.
Uganda reached the Final Investment Decision on oil and Gas in 2022 and there is lots of work going on. A recent release from the Petroleum Authority of Uganda said that since the FID, USD7.16 billion worth of contracts had been sanctioned and of this, nearly USD1.8 billion (equivalent to UGX7 trillion) worth of contracts has been allocated to Ugandan companies. How much of this went to insurance? Is the industry ready to embrace opportunities in the oil and gas industry?
I think when you look at the bigger picture, I am part of the school of thought that believes that the oil and gas sector is going to transform the entire economy once we do it right.
In terms of the economy benefiting from the investments, thus far, I agree with you, it’s been massive. But also because the investment is so capital intensive, much of that is going to technology, equipment and skills that we don’t have domestically yet. A number of Industry players, through the Insurance Consortium on Oil & Gas (ICOGU), managed to insure some of the major projects in the sector. In addition, there are so many other service providers in the entire value chain, many of them local that are benefiting and Insurance will play a key role in the entire value chain.
Let’s talk about the importance of local knowledge and the rise of Ugandan CEOs. There is a thinking that Ugandan CEOs have come of age and they ought to be given more chances. In your view how is local knowledge important in organisational transformation especially for organisations that have a large global presence? To have or not to have a local CEO, what’s the good and the bad⏤ the pros and cons?
I will start with my own story. First of all, local knowledge is very important because it improves your capacity to appreciate the entire business landscape, and the Ugandan Business nuances and to be able to understand them fully to see the bigger picture. I have noticed there’s been a kind of transition in the last few years in the sector. When I got this job, I was told that Allan, this job is not for you alone. The perception then, was a wrong perception (in my opinion) that Ugandans are lazy, sluggish, or slow, and so you cannot have them as leaders. And so, when I got this job they said, you’re going to make it or kill it for the other young aspiring Ugandan CEOs in the industry. Right now there are many young CEOs out there and they are Ugandans, almost the entire industry, and I’m ever so proud. That’s one of the things I’m so glad and proud of And many other colleagues, tell me that if I/we had failed or messed up, probably other companies wouldn’t have had the confidence to hire local CEOs. THE IRA CEO has also played a major role in this space and the Industry is very appreciative of his support in trusting and believing in local Industry leaders.
I am glad that even in the banking industry and other industries there is a big rise in the local CEOs. It is happening and it is unstoppable- In the same way you are seeing many European companies in Africa changing ownership to African shareholders. The idea of some guys sitting somewhere and deciding that CEOs in Uganda and Africa should be foreigners is a tired story. They should trust Ugandans because we have the abilities. There’s almost nothing, except for the specialised industries we haven’t been exposed to yet that a Ugandan cannot do. This transition, this journey is on and I am glad that the insurance industry is leading this revolution. At one time, there were only a handful of local CEOs in the insurance industry mainly for the locally owned insurance companies.
What is true is that Ugandans lacked exposure for various reasons, but that is now something of the past with globalization and the ready availability of information and training with the development in the technology space. There is a vast talent pool of Ugandans and they will continue to drive our growth agenda in the private sector as we drive Uganda’s Economy for the benefit of Ugandans and the rest of the global citizens.
As noted above, I am once again glad that our regulator has also been supportive in the building of local capacity – both in ensuring there is sufficient skilling but also in ensuring where opportunities arise, Ugandans are given a chance to compete with everybody else.
As a leader, generally and as CEO of Britam- what worries you? What keeps you awake, sometimes?
Number one is disruption. This industry is very vulnerable to serious disruption. To be honest with you, you know, the disruption by digital, by AI is quite unprecedented and gonna eat up quite a number of companies.
If you look around the world, especially around the Western World, they are saying by 2030, the automobile industry wants to go green. We have game-changers like Elon Musk who could wake up and say all cars we are selling are coming with insurance. If the Japanese automobile makers followed suit, and said all motor vehicles we are selling will come pre-insured— it is possible because they have local dealerships all over in most countries. And that’s just a simple example. What if the Apple guys start selling their gadgets pre-insured and the price is inbuilt? Other manufacturers can, after realising there’s money they are leaving on the table, follow suit.
With technology- most of these things are possible. You have seen what telecoms have done to the banks. Telecoms are now moving almost more money than a good number of the banks in the industry because of convenience. So that’s what keeps me awake.
At the Group level, Britam has already started initiating that transition conversation before it comes and takes us by surprise.
That said, our industry is ripe for disruption so we can be able to grow our penetration to 2-3-5 and 10% just like South Africa. And that’s what keeps me awake. I keep thinking, what next.
And then of course, there are these other things about ensuring that your team is thinking with you and shares in your vision of delivering a superior customer experience, delivering the results, and challenging the status quo; standing behind you and supporting you. Every CEO thinks about that. Once you have your team 100% with you at all times, once you have their support of your vision, then as a leader, you know that wherever you’re going, you will be successful – It is a Team Game.
Some leaders have said in Uganda the problem of lack of employment is almost as big as the problem of lack of employable skills. Looking back over the last 10 years, how is this challenge of employable skills evolving especially in the insurance industry? How is the skills base evolving? Are you scared of losing your people?
There is still a challenge and your analysis is correct. When I am recruiting I really go after the culture fit as mentioned earlier. Are you trainable? This is simply because what most of our universities are teaching the children, is not the real stuff. Particularly in the insurance industry, we still have very few insurance professionals. A very small number.
What that means is that for some of us who have invested in building talent pools, we are often a target for recruitment by other companies- but that is okay with me because one of the things I want in my legacy is how many leaders have I built in the industry.
For example, I already have some that I mentioned earlier who are now very successful CEOs in the industry. These are guys who were on Exco. Whenever I talk to them, they are glad I had an impact on them in their professional transformation and leadership and that is very humbling. You may speak to them and hear their side. In ten years, I want to look back at this industry and I find it dotted with guys that I have nurtured because there is a way I would love this industry to be transformed and I know they will be part of this transformation.
But there is still a challenge in this industry of lack of desire by people to improve their knowledge that people have to almost be driven, even when you have free courses. Self desire to improve skills is a trait that we should encourage. Again this probably goes back to how our education system is built- it doesn’t encourage people to fight for themselves- do research etc. So yes, skill gaps are still there, and we still have a lot of work to do as leaders. I’ll consider myself as having not done enough if I do not train enough people who can continue running these companies when we are gone such that they do not have to bring foreigners to save the day like it was, back then. Those are some of the conversations that we need to have as leaders as we nurture the young talent to become the real leaders of tomorrow.
There have been some recent movements in the insurance market, especially the merger of Allianz and Sanlam on the African continent but even before that, Allianz was already in the East African region. All these are going to have an impact on the Ugandan market. Doesn’t this worry you?
Personally, I’m excited.
You know, before that deal was given a go-ahead, by the COMESA Competition Commission as directed by the Regulator, I was one of the respondents interviewed by the Commission on whether the deal would make one large player that would make it too difficult for other companies to do business and I simply told them they should give it a go-ahead.
Why, you may ask.
As a person, I would love to compete with such companies because when they enter the market, they are gonna play the game by the rules just like I do. If they are playing by the rules, then that means that we are going to compete on service and that’s how we shall grow the industry. That’s how we shall transform the image of the industry. At least such guys do not compete by underpricing or offering other unregulated incentives to get business. When such players come, it is good for the market because there is capacity growth, there is growth in skills and these shall remain here and with competition centered on service, the clients and our intermediaries are the real winners and that is what I want to see.
Secondly in those acquisitions and mergers, there are always challenges involved and in there, there could be opportunities for us as Britam. So I have told my guys, that sharpen your spears, and let’s go hunting. So I am frankly excited. Yes, the merger will certainly create some good market share for the new entity but my work is to give them some work to do. So I am not worried about it. I am excited.
As for competition in general, I keep telling my people, that I don’t want to be discussing those other companies in my meetings, let them worry about us. We can’t spend our time worrying about them. It’s like driving with a handbrake on and looking all over everywhere. If you do that, you get knocked out. Again it is like in F1- the difference between success and failure is in a 1000th of a second. Your thinking and focus and level of clarity of mind must be extremely good 24/7.
What are some of your key lessons/learnings in these 10 years on leadership and life in general What advice lies in there for upcoming leaders in the industry and in corporate Uganda in general?
I think the first thing for me is self-discovery. Before you start worrying about anything else, who are you first of all? What are you good at? Are you the person for the role? Once that is addressed then personal confidence is boosted. There is confidence in knowing your capabilities. There will be low anxiety and certainly higher chances of rising up the ladders. Once you know your strengths and weaknesses, that enables you to become a well-rounded person. You will know where to sharpen and where not to. You will know where to hunt and where not to hunt.
The other thing for many a young leader coming into the business and not necessarily insurance only, is always having a growth mindset. Always keep learning. From time to time, we become irrelevant- commercial deals are being closed and business is going on around you because you are stuck in the knowledge of the past. Life and business and almost everything don’t have a fixed manual- that this is how it was done and so it will be, the world, forever Amen. You should be able to challenge yourself and be able to look ahead, inspire teams, get the right people on board, train them and let them do their job. Once you can inspire a Team to deliver results that they think are impossible, then you’re firmly on the right track? Can you narture them, build a winning culture and an unstoppable Team?
That gives you time to focus, not on them but on the bigger picture, the strategy and the vision of the business. For example, you may be promoted to the CEO level because you have been excellent as a General Manager but you still want to run the company with the same knowledge and skills that you had as a GM; not knowing that your game has now changed. You now need to be thinking about things like how to run a company- things like how all the 14,500 parts in a Formula 1 car work together to produce that efficiency, precision and performance.
So to me, leadership is a cocktail of things, but things that are very manageable that you can deal with at the personal level because that’s where it really starts. So you start with transforming yourself and then transforming your team. Earlier we talked about understanding yourself. Once you do this, you know where to install new habits. Before I joined Britam people had their own time of coming to the office. But I engaged them on the importance of waking up at least an hour earlier. Is it too much work? Perhaps not. But the benefits are immense. Waking up an hour earlier means you control both your early mornings which ar the most productive and also your evenings. In that case you sleep an hour earlier and that gives you a great head start. That’s why I am in the office at 06 am and many of my Team members have followed suit and I thank them for taking up the challenge. I’m also very well aware that even those that do not belong to the 5.00 am club for family or other reasons also put in an outstanding effort and that’s how we’ve managed to produce excellent results over the years.
Secondly, people talk about work-life balance, but some smart guys say work-life fluidity, because if for example, you are working from home, where do you draw a line? But the bottom line is if you come in early, you get more things done. In fact with good employers, it is possible to say, that those who come in early, also get to leave early, so you get to have more time with your family or your other life or to build a better social capital and network. When you take control of your time you can control many other things. People talk about traffic jams on Entebbe Road, but I have never seen it because I operate during my own hours. I come early. I leave early and that way, I get to do a lot more early morning and also in the evening.
Once you get your team, for those who have an opportunity to build their own teams, nurture them- I don’t really believe in getting people from competition- build your own and insert in them what you want to see I call them your special gears. I believe in creating your special DNA and injecting it into your team. That way, you create people who are fully aligned with the business philosophy and vision of the company.
There are many leadership books where you can continuously find guidance on how to build solutions to the challenges you face today. So keep learning. No problem hasn’t been solved by the leaders who have been there before us. Most of the challenges that businesses face have been faced in one form or another elsewhere before you and the guys who have been there before with more experience and expertise have solved them. All you have to do is read. All you have to do is provide time every day and make sure you always reading and building your capacity. Unless you are in the space of the Elon Musks who is trying to trailblaze into space, then you are lucky because you have mentors who have faced the challenges you are going through today. As long as you have that open mindset and a learning mindset and humility and being humble and asking the right questions, you will make it.
Some CEOs as soon as they arrive develop this “very big guy” mentality. No, you won’t succeed if you do that.
Once people have an open mindset- the more they open their minds, the more they challenge themselves, the more they innovate, and the more they get the confidence to solve these problems. I encourage all my team before you come to my office with a problem, please come up with an answer/solution as well. We can then discuss your answer/solution to the problem and reach an agreement. See, sometimes, as the CEO you are not necessarily the most knowledgeable person on everything in the business. There are people in certain areas who know a lot more than you do because they are the people who are always on the ground and they’re the experts in their respective areas. That’s their speciality. You have to give people the confidence to know that they are allowed to think for the organisation and as the CEO you can always guide their thoughts and fit them within the larger picture. Most of the time the solutions developed by the ground teams are always correct. Secondly, they’re much easier to implement since the Team owns the solutions and easily executes them. It also boosts the Team’s confidence that you trust their solutions and this gives them more confidence to think and find solutions. One of the key drivers of our company is Be part of the Solution. Be bold and do it now, this encourages the Team to think which leads to timely decision-making
I am inspired by the wisdom of Gen. Collin Powell. He believed in keeping decision-making very close to the frontline. Teams should be empowered on how to think and act quickly otherwise, the entire Force can be wiped out by an enemy whilst waiting for answers from the High Command or tactical command centre.
How to make decisions.
That is my kind of leadership coaching style. When you coach someone, there should always be somewhere to start the conversation. Solutions developed by the team members become easier to implement because there is higher ownership as noted above.
In our interview, you keep mentioning the F1 car and F1 mentality. What is special about F1 and how does it inspire you to do things differently?
One of the things that I told my team when I came here is we need to have the F1 mentality. That’s why I love F1.
First of all, it is about the car itself. Imagine those 14,500 parts being able to work together and deliver that horsepower is itself very exciting. Let’s talk about the teamwork in Formula 1. There is no better teamwork that you will find in the world than the F1 teamwork- not even in football, basketball or cricket. The one sport you will find excellent teamwork is F1.
It starts with the building of the car- I mean that car can crash in the morning and in the evening it is back on the road. The amount of teamwork that goes in there is immense. Let’s go to the tyre change at the pitstop. Do you know how many races have been won or lost at the pitstop? The current record for the fastest pitstop is now at 1.8 seconds. It takes about a crew of 20 people at each pit stop to change a tyre. Each tyre has about 3 people assigned to it, each playing different but synchronised roles. Four tyres are changed in 2 seconds and there are guys (Jackmen) who lift the Car as soon as it hits the blocks (whilst almost still in flight) then there are guys to hit the green button once the wheel nuts are back on and one watching out for the release of the car safely back onto the track⏤absolute Precision at its very best. Teamwork, high performance, name it. The margins are so thin. A microsecond can cost you a win. Sometimes in life, you don’t have a whole minute.
That’s what I tell my guys. If it is a bid document we are working on, that’s the kind of precision mindset and teamwork that I expect. If you ask me, it is that F1 philosophy in execution that has enabled us to win. We do not entertain much of the “I will do it tomorrow attitude”.
Even my teams in claims payment are aware. When a client’s car has had an accident and we have agreed on the costs, I want that payment made on the same day. The entire team across the chain has to be aligned- claims, , back office, finance etc. We should all be working together to deliver on that promise and ensure we do not lose time at any part of the process. My role then is to identify the weaknesses in the process and fix them. I want everyone to be the very best at their role, in this company and this market.
Being a leader and keeping all the 14,500 pieces together- is certainly a tough job. Some parts fall off and others get stuck or worn out. How do you keep it all together? How do you keep yourself organised? How do you stay sane in the first lane?
I will borrow from Robin Sharma. It boils down to the habits that you instill in yourself and your Team. If you do not have discipline- first in yourself and then the business, you really can’t go far. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, but to be able to stay sane, you must have- as far as I am concerned, it starts by being in control of your day. That is why the 5 am Club helps because it helps me keep a step ahead. I get up early, do a few stretches for some minutes and take that cold shower regardless of the season, absolutely NO HOT water for me. Waking up early and doing a few stretches, a cold shower and a glass of warm water of warm lemon /Ginger Water kickstarts your system, to start working early. Your body and brain are all super active.
Waking up early and seeing the day, helps you set your agenda clearly. You know what you want to achieve and achieve it and you go all out for it! My major weakness is I hardly go out to socialize these days, especially after work. I used to party a lot and of course, have those cold beers with the boys almost every evening back in time but lately, I am always home early which gives me time to beat the jam, get home and play with my son. Do homework and catch up with some work for the day. I am in bed early which allows me to start my day at 05 am or earlier.
But when it comes to business meetings- I am always available in the evenings otherwise it is a hard cutoff and it’s intentional. I had to uninstall my old habits and install new ones. Out with the hard-partying and late nights. No meetings after 6 pm unless necessary or serious business meetings. That allows me enough rest.
My other weakness (but I also consider it a strength) is that I said NO to social media. I’m a very happy Bushman. I exited WhatsApp in 2017 and many thought it was a joke. I know I may occasionally miss a thing or two but I know that all serious business matters can be sent by email as well. So I miss out on nothing. I also get to decide what I feed my brain with. I bulletproof my mind/brain and I decide what to feed it with, what to read and not to be blown away with countless social media posts with the developers keen to see more time wasting, more chatting, more sad stories etc. That’s not for the Bushman!
My survival toolkit is therefore very simple and made up of simple things. No-brainers⏤. Take stock of the key deliverables of the day/week/month and progress on key strategic projects, Plan the following day in the evening, as much as possible try to get enough sleep, wake up early, say a quick prayer, get the brain & the body off to a cracking start with my daily morning routine early and hit the frontline happy, energized & with a smile to deliver. Have it worked out? Have key milestones set that allow you to check yourself in regularly. Always read. Always be thankful to God for what the Life journey has brought you to.
The moment you have a clear management of your time, especially in the morning, you get more executed. So it keeps you very sane. Otherwise, you will have crazier days with very little output and you will go home drained. If you don’t have enough rest, you will certainly have burnout. You can’t cheat nature.
That is me. Staying sane in the fast lane is of course not a one-size-fits-all. Everyone has their own style. It is a personal choice & deliberate decision. But you have to create time for yourself. Deliberately.
Looking ahead, what can we expect from Britam Insurance this year and beyond? What do you see in the industry coming? What is exciting you about the future?
AI and digital transformation are going to change things around.
Micro-insurance is going to be a big thing. We then have other big players coming in and I see both challenges and exciting opportunities therein as well. The economy will keep growing.
One ask I make of the government is can government insure their assets and workers. The government is the biggest employer and biggest owner of assets. If they insured their people and assets, this would certainly give the industry a big push. It makes financial sense and as an Industry, we have demonstrated to the Government that they will save more by buying Insurance
At Britam level- I told you last year was a fantastic year. The other year we made a PBT of UGX4.8bn and last year we did UGX11 billion, which is more than 100% growth.
We already have Britam Asset Managers in Uganda providing outstanding and unmatched Investment solutions in Uganda and this year, we are going to add another Britam Company in Uganda. We are starting a Life insurance company. It is already registered and we are in advanced conversations with the regulator on ⏤having it licensed by the end of the year there will be Britam Life Assurance Company Uganda, funded by Britam Insurance Uganda. We are not going back to the shareholder. I am so happy and proud of that. Britam Life Kenya is the biggest Life Company in the entire Eastern and Central Africa Region by a village mile and we’re going to do our best to replicate that in Uganda in the long-term.
We are looking to enter the medical space to provide unique solutions that are not there. We are going into agro-insurance by the end of the year with the Industry Agro-Corsotium. We are already doing a lot of exciting things in Kenya, with partners across the globe such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Oxfam and the Financial Sector Deepening Uganda (FSDU) in terms of deepening insurance, providing insurance to the farmers etc and we are planning to replicate that in Uganda and other countries where we operate. That’s why we’re going into agriculture insurance for example.
There is this new policy which I am sure nobody in this market is thinking about, but in Uganda, we have quite some good amounts of human-wildlife conflict in the National Parks and we have a solution for the Wildlife Authority so that government doesn’t have to spend a lot of money on compensations when thee conflicts happen. We are going to speak to the government to work out a unique solution.
I see very exciting times for us ahead and of course, we can never go away from digitisation. I am looking at a future where you buy a policy from Britam, and you don’t take any piece of paper. The only thing you need is maybe a card.
Finally, at Britam, we are leading the charge in the digitization of the insurance industry, underscored by the launch of our cutting-edge self-service portals. Our Travel Insurance Portal exemplifies our commitment to innovation by allowing clients and partners to take full control of their insurance needs through a user-friendly, centralized online platform. Whether it’s purchasing policies, managing existing ones, filing claims, or receiving instant feedback, users can now handle all these tasks independently, significantly reducing the reliance on manual processes and enhancing overall efficiency. These portals are designed with an intuitive interface to ensure a seamless user experience, even for first-time users. Enhanced engagement tools, including chat functions and automated feedback loops, ensure prompt assistance and updates on inquiries and transactions. Robust security measures are in place to protect user data and ensure compliance with regulatory standards, offering peace of mind to all our stakeholders. Our self-service portals can be accessed easily from anywhere at any time, ensuring maximum convenience for our users. Clients and partners can explore and utilize these features by visiting https://ug.britam.com/take-control This digital transformation not only enhances client satisfaction and trust in Britain’s services but also sets a new benchmark for operational efficiency and service delivery in the insurance sector.
I also wish to finally thank the CEO Magazine and particularly, yourself as the CEO. You’ve seen Britam Uganda transform and grow from the bottom to where we are now⏤ very close to the top ⏤and we’ve equally seen you grow into this formidable, highly impactful company that supports leadership growth across the Eastern African region and beyond. I wish you continued phenomenal success as we grow and inspire more leaders across the region, to engineer the transformation and growth of our region and Africa at large.