(Togo First) – In 2019, following a “joint venture” with Beneficial Life, Prudential, a British insurer which celebrates its 175th anniversary this year, made a remarkable entry into the Togolese market. Under the direction of Justin Quam Gbadago, a veteran of the Togolese insurance sector, a graduate of the Center Africain d’Etudes Supérieures en Gestion (CESAG) and having previously worked for NSIA Assurances and GTA-C2A, Prudential is displaying new ambitions. In this interview, Justin Quam Gbadago talks about the position of the insurer in the Togolese market, its products and its future ambitions, as well as the challenges to overcome to ensure its growth in this competitive market. It also discusses the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Prudential’s business and the insurance market in general. Interview !
Togo First: How can we present Prudential Togo?
Justin Quam Gbadago : Prudential is a British company that has expanded its operations in Africa since 2014, starting with Ghana and later expanding to Kenya, Zambia, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Togo in 2019 through a joint venture with the Beneficial group. Prudential is currently focusing on the Asian and African markets.
The merger between Prudential and Beneficial took place two years ago and proved beneficial for the managing directors. We chose Beneficial because its operating model aligns well with Prudential’s model, which is unique and highly regarded.
In Togo, our Prudential Bénéficial business currently ranks fourth out of six insurance companies, with a market share of 14%. We offer around 15 different products, ranging from pure savings products to end-of-career benefits, mixed products and death insurance products. In 2023, we obtained authorization to market a 16th product, Pension Plus, which is a basic savings product associated with funeral expenses. Although we are specialized in life insurance, we plan to create P&C companies [segment assurantiel en charge des « Incendies, Accidents et Risques Divers », NDLR] to offer non-life insurance products in the future.
Our company has more than 52,000 customers thanks to our dense network of more than 600 sales agents. We have 11 agencies in 4 major cities, including 8 in Lomé, one in Atakpamé, one in Kara and one in Dapaong. Our market share is 14% and this concerns all segments, including corporate, large branch and banking insurance.
Togo First: Prudential celebrates its 175th anniversary this year. How are you approaching this special new year and what lessons can you learn from its 175 years of activity?
Justin Quam Gbadago : This year we are celebrating the 175th anniversary of the creation of Prudential in London in 1848, by offering innovative and accessible offers to all to support our customers. We are also planning special activities to mark this anniversary in Togo, including sponsored football matches and a gala evening for our customers.
Togo First: Covid-19 has slowed down the global economy which is now slowly picking up. Do you particularly feel this recovery in your activities?
Justin Quam Gbadago : The insurance sector has not been strongly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and the market has been growing normally since 2020. In 2022, the insurance market saw an increase of 11%, while our market share increased by 13% [Chiffres d’affaires, NDLR] in 2022.
Togo First: Regarding Togo, what are the changes and the main players in the market?
Justin Quam Gbadago : There are six companies present in the life insurance market in Togo, with GTA Assurances as the leader, followed by Sunu Assurances. NSIA Assurances comes third and Prudential is fourth. Then comes CIF-Vie, which belongs to the FUCEC company, the first microfinance company in Togo.
Togo First: What are the obstacles that could hinder your current growth? What challenges have you identified that could impact your development?
Justin Quam Gbadago : One of the main obstacles is the lack of consumer confidence in insurance, in addition to the regulatory impediments associated with it. This difficulty in perceiving the value of insurance is not a phenomenon specific to our country, it also exists in Europe. However, we have trained agents in the field who clearly explain the contents of the contracts to our customers, which is our strength. Each client has a direct intermediary whom they can contact at any time to make progress on their file.
The other challenge we face is the presence of a bank with our competitors, when we don’t have one. Owning a bank makes it easy to offer insurance products to customers with a bank account, which helps expand the portfolio. This is a considerable advantage that we do not currently have. It is important to note that the first three competitors we follow have a bank, which is a major asset for them. We are working with our group to address this issue and hope to make rapid progress in this area.
In terms of regulatory hurdles, we don’t see any particular barriers for our business as the regulations apply equally to everyone in the industry. In fact, the CIMA Code [Conférence Interafricaine des Marchés d’Assurances, NDLR] offers many advantages and rights to customers and its rigor guarantees a certain quality of service.
Togo First: What are the current innovation trends and how is Prudential positioning itself in relation to these challenges? Is this trend observed in Togo or is the country still lagging behind?
Justin Quam Gbadago : The insurance sector is currently experiencing technological innovation trends that are gradually spreading in Togo. At Prudential, we are at the forefront of this trend, offering online services to our customers, such as processing information, sending documents and creating online accounts for limited amounts. For larger amounts, we prefer to meet our clients personally to make preliminaries before setting up the contract. We anticipate future opportunities for insurers, particularly in terms of innovation and financial inclusion for unbanked populations.
Togo First: What are your relations with companies, businesses or start-ups that develop innovative technological solutions?
Justin Quam Gbadago : We will be creating an Innovation Manager position this year, which demonstrates our commitment to innovation. We believe that innovation is the key to increasing the penetration of insurance among the population. We will gradually adopt digital technologies to allow our customers to carry out most of their transactions online, to pay their premiums, their benefits and to receive their money via different applications such as T-money, Flooz and OMNI from Ecobank. We process insurance claims within 15 days, which is faster than the 30 days required by law. We are open to collaborations with companies and start-ups that develop technological solutions to improve the customer experience and facilitate access to insurance services.
Togo First: How do you perceive the arrival of mobile telephone operators in the insurance sector, in particular the recent partnership between the operator MTN and the insurer sanlam which is also present in Togo in the P&C segment? ? Do you think this represents a threat or an opportunity for you?
Justin Quam Gbadago : For us, this is an opportunity because telephone operators cannot offer insurance products without a partner insurance company. This is a major development that offers insurance companies such as Prudential the possibility of using telephony services to reach more people and increase the penetration rate. Moreover, we recently obtained a short number from ARCEP [Autorité de régulation des communications électroniques, NDLR] to provide easier access to our insurance services to our customers.
Togo First: What are Prudential’s initiatives in terms of sustainable development and social responsibility?
Justin Quam Gbadago : Prudential has made a strong commitment in this direction and has completed several projects in 2022, such as the construction and delivery of seven modern wells and sanitation facilities in five schools and communities in Togo’s five economic regions. These projects have improved the lives of more than 20,000 students across the country, and this trend will continue in 2023. A project to build wells and provide sanitation facilities is currently underway in the maritime region. Other projects were initiated in 2022 and will be launched in 2023. Prudential’s main objective is to help people improve their quality of life, while offering suitable products and being present alongside its customers.
Togo First: As a collector of public savings, what is your investment strategy in the financial markets of the sub-region and how do you use these instruments to meet the needs of your clients?
Justin Quam Gbadago : As a financial institution, Prudential is very active in the financial markets. We are present on the bond markets of WAEMU States, including Togolese issues, and we have deposits with banks to support the granting of credit to populations. We also invest in financial market offerings, such as the March ones I recently signed up for. This presence in the financial markets is crucial to enable us to keep our promises by offering our clients profitable financial products while respecting our interest commitments. We are aware of the importance of efficient savings management and we work actively to maintain an optimal balance between investments in the financial markets and meeting the needs of our clients.
Togo First: What are the long-term prospects for Prudential Togo, in terms of strategy, current projects and vision for the future?
Justin Quam Gbadago : It should be remembered that Prudential intends to settle permanently in Togo and throughout Africa, where the company continues to expand. Although the African countries that could welcome Prudential in the near future are not mentioned, the ambition is high for Prudential to become the first insurer on the African continent, by investing considerably in this objective. Prudential has a prestigious history, with over 175 years of experience, having survived both wars and compensated victims of the Titanic. With its 11 branches located in the main cities, we plan to open new branches very soon to strengthen our presence in Togo, in order to get closer to our customers.
In 2023, Prudential plans to open at least one new branch inside the country, as customer satisfaction is a priority for the company. In addition to this, we are working on several projects to make our systems more available to clients, with the aim of enabling clients to subscribe, comment on their contract, request a redemption or contact their advisers at any time, from their home.
Interview conducted by Fiacre E. Kakpo