Staff Writer
AFRICA’s insurance industry is at a defining crossroads and the sectors leaders should abandon outdated models and embrace adaptive, visionary strategies that respond to the continent’s rapidly shifting socioeconomic and climatic landscape.
Speaking at the Southern Africa Insurance Indaba in Victoria Falls on Thursday, Old Mutual general manager for life assurance , Linda Mariwande said the continent sits on “a massive but fragile opportunity,” driven by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), a booming youthful population, deepening digital penetration, and rising climate and economic pressures.
“Africa’s insurance sector is at a turning point,” she said. “Disruptions demand adaptive and strategic leadership — not reactive leadership. We must pick up opportunities even within the problems we face.”
She highlighted the continent’s demographic advantage — a median age between 15 and 21 compared to a global average of around 30 — but warned that many current products and business models are misaligned with expectations of younger, fast-changing generations.
“Most of the solutions we’re familiar with may not be relevant anymore,” she said. “Gen Zs are our customers, not today but very soon , and we must think hard about how to serve them.”
With insurance penetration still below 3% across Africa and roughly 1% in Zimbabwe, she said the real opportunity lies in designing products for a mobile-first, tech-native market.
Citing Kenya’s mobile-money innovations, she argued that Africa’s high mobile penetration should catalyse innovation and simplified distribution methods.
“There are Africans whose only experience of banking is their mobile phone. That is where they live. That is where the insurance solutions must go.”
Mariwande criticised the sector for catering mostly to the formal economy despite 70 to 80% of Zimbabwe’s economic activity occurring informally.
“If the informal market is where the people are, who exactly are we serving today?” she asked.
Reinforcing concerns raised earlier at the conference, she said Africa’s climate and economic vulnerabilities should not be viewed solely as threats but as opportunities for new products. “Vulnerability is an opportunity. Protection gaps won’t close themselves. Leadership is about the resilience to go after difficult problems instead of avoiding them.”
She also noted increasing regulatory stringency across the continent, saying it is a necessary response to past misconduct and an essential foundation for rebuilding trust.
Mariwande acknowledged Africa’s ongoing data scarcity but said regulators and insurers are gradually improving their capabilities.
She urged the sector to leverage whatever data is available and make use of affordable AI tools.
“AI is no longer expensive. Use whatever data is available. Decisions must be informed — not based on what makes us comfortable.”
She criticised short-term thinking in boardrooms, warning that annual KPIs often undermine long-term transformation. “We must ask: if we continue working the way we do, will we survive 2030? We need to balance short-term pressures with long-term transformation.”
Mariwande called for aggressive consumer education, arguing that distrust mainly arises from complex products and poor communication.
She called for leadership that prioritises impact alongside profitability.
“How many lives have we saved? How many claims did we actually pay? The more impact and trust we build, the more sustainable our businesses become.”
Mariwande said the future African insurance leader must be purpose-driven, innovation-oriented, connected to broader ecosystems, and firmly anchored in ESG and resilience thinking.
