On 13 October, members from The SAAX Group were joined by CASS students to hear from Matt Lilley, CEO Africa for Prudential, about their ambitions in Africa; their recent acquisitions and plans for the future. It was an excellent opportunity to hear first-hand from an industry leader driving strategy and growth across the African continent. For Matt's presentation please see our website (www.saaxgroup.org).
Matt touched in particular on the Asian markets before sharing Prudential's strategy of replicating their agency model in Africa. They have seen success in emerging markets exhibiting low insurance penetration where they have a large proportion of the existing market share. It's about being a serious player in a market before it grows.
Matt was candid that Prudential's success is built off a strong distribution strategy relying on agents on the ground. Their strong performance is a direct result of being able to modify their distribution strategy appropriately into one that is scalable. They have learnt from their mistakes, transferring successful practices from one market to another. Identifying which markets to get involved in is the starting point and Matt shared several metrics looked at to compare opportunities. Initial markets identified as attractive include Ghana and Kenya. In both countries, Prudential has bought small existing companies with the intention of growing significantly in the future.
The evening concluded with drinks, snacks and a spot of networking.