Mrs. Alero Ladipo
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Chuks Udo Okonta
Old Mutual Limited celebrates 175 years of impacting lives across the continent. The key to Old Mutual Limited’s success, according to Vuyo Lee, Old Mutual Group Chief Marketing Officer, is that the company has always taken the long-term view and understood that change, challenge and opportunity are the only constants.
She maintains that the company’s resilience and longevity buoyed by superior financial stability positions the Group – operating in 13 economies across Africa – to back its commitment to expansion in African markets like Nigeria, despite expected global economic headwinds arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Today, as our world faces unprecedented health and economic challenges, Old Mutual is very conscious of the anxiety and pressure all our customers, investors, business partners, financial advisers and employees are experiencing. We are proud that we have the financial strength of many decades behind us, the strength that enables us to once again reassure all our stakeholders that our business remains resilient and ready to support them. Having a strong liquidity position means we can honour all our obligations to our customers while still holding the capital levels required by regulators.
The Executive Head, Marketing and Customer Experience, Old Mutual Nigeria, Mrs. Alero Ladipo said the company, structured for inherent synergy would draw strength from the professionalism, resilience and longevity of its parent company with almost two centuries of experience in an African and global business space that has been impacted by uncertainties, strife and warfare.
Alero maintains that Old Mutual Nigeria, being an affiliate of a pan-African corporate is in the country to battle for market leadership in Nigeria’s growing insurance market.
“For us in Nigeria, we join our other affiliates across the world to celebrate an iconic brand born in 1845. For 175 years, Old Mutual has stayed true to its vision and business ethos by supporting individuals, businesses and communities through generations of civil wars and world wars as well as the Spanish Flu pandemic, the Great Depression, and many political crises and economic turbulence across the continent and the world. We also celebrate with anticipation, the next decade of growth and innovation in Nigeria, because we believe in the inherent resilience of the insurance sector and its capacity to help our nation survive and recover through difficult times such as the unprecedented challenge that we and the rest of the world presently face”, Alero said.
Still hinting on the strengthening of its pan-Africa footprint, Lee disclosed that the Group would be leveraging technology to solidify internal structures, operations and external benevolence to its millions of customers around the world.
“To continue meeting our customers’ needs, we have successfully accelerated our efforts to simplify and digitalise our customers’ end-to-end digital experience, making it more personalised and targeted, tech-enabled, fast and simple. In fact, our brand’s intensified focus on IT innovation has inspired a pan-African legacy project that will mark – for generations to come – our 175th anniversary,” Lee added.
“Improving people’s lives is a vital aspect of the Old Mutual brand and this ambitious project, to be rolled out in three stages over seven years, represents a direct response to the education exclusion, low financial literacy, and poor teacher-to-learner ratios endemic across Africa. It will also help provide access to the physical and financial resources that hamper education on the continent,” says Lee.
“As a custodian of the savings and investments of millions of Africans, we recognise the important role we play in investing in education and skills development and unleashing meaningful business opportunities. At the heart of our Responsible Business ethos is our quest to use our resources effectively to drive positive impact and build a financially inclusive society across Africa,” explains Lee.
“Remaining true to our promise of being a certain friend in uncertain times in both word and deed has been the secret of our brand’s longevity and enduring relevance for 175 years,” concludes Lee.
Indeed, Old Mutual Nigeria recently launched its e-channels portal for seamless access to insurance products and claims payment process during the COVID-19 lockdown in the country. It has also revamped its entire e-commerce channels for optimum outcomes and customer experience.
