Sanlam supports BIHL in digital adoption
Sanlam, a South African company with majority shareholding stake at Botswana Insurance Holding Limited (BIHL), has announced intentions to scale up digital adoption at the local insurance company.
“We believe the world is changing and with technology playing an increasingly critical role in every aspect of business, we recognise that we need to accelerate the development of digital solutions to ensure we remain the competitive vanguard, this goes well for BIHL Group, our trusted partner,” said Sanlam Emerging Markets Chief Executive Officer, Heinie Werth. Werth said the decision is hinged to the company’s appetite to continuously improve service, develop products and solutions for clients.
The BIHL Group and Sanlam have been partners for almost 20 years, with the latter being a majority shareholder with a 58 percent stake while Batswana hold 42 percent shares. “This partnership has been beneficial for both Sanlam and the BIHL Group,” said Werth. Meanwhile, BIHL Group remains optimistic to leverage on Sanlam’s broad and significant footprint in many countries across Africa.
“Sanlam is a key partner in forming our strength in numbers and today’s business landscape requires partnerships that are key to better serving customers by merging talent, expertise, technology, and purpose.
“We believe that collaboration and strategic partnerships are fundamental to improving business outcomes and having Sanlam as a majority stakeholder does not mean that they are taking away the business from us, but instead adding value to the service that we provide,” said BIHL Group Acting Board Chairman, Mahube Mpungwa.
Sharing the sentiments, BIHL Group Chief Executive Officer Catherine Lesetedi said the company continues to add value and grow the local economy through partnerships. “The strategic partnership with Sanlam has not only benefited us alone but has also benefited businesses across the board and that of our subsidiaries, employees and customers,” said Lesetedi.