Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury, Ramathan Ggoobi and the team Pose for a photo during the rebrand
One of Uganda’s leading asset managers and insurance firms, Old Mutual has eventually clinched a uniform market presence after its major rebrand, walking away from UAP Old Mutual, to Old Mutual. The investment and insurance company now no longer has name culture options as it’s currently set to utilize this convergence to improve its array of integrated financial offerings. The rebrand seals 11 years of a merger and acquisition course further shaped by UAP’s acquisition of United Assurance Company at the start of this millennium.
With the rebrand already having happened in neighbouring markets like Rwanda and Kenya, in 2021 and 2023 respectively, Uganda has equally followed suit to create an umbrella of unified operations across Africa. The mood is to ramp it up with improved market products for both investment and insurance.
Implications
The name overhaul will reflect across different markets, including its brokerage counter on Uganda Securities Exchange, and fund management as overseen by the Capital Markets Authority considering the fact that it’s a member firm. While that serves for investment, it will also reflect under insurance. As the move gestures market confidence, different stakeholders have weighed in with optimism.
According to the Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury, Ramathan Ggoobi, there is need to derisk all investments. As such, the improvements will stimulate the demand for insurance. He urges insurers to mobilize more savings, support agro-insurance, demystify insurance by investing in financial literacy and also promote digital solutions.
Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury, Ramathan Ggoobi Speaking during the Rebrand
“The gross national savings rate is low, at about 20%. Each Ugandan prefers to consume 80% of their income. It has ramifications. Shallow credit, less capital accumulation and high dependence on foreign capital,” says Ggoobi. In the same spirit, Zac Kisesi, the Managing Director of Old Mutual investment group informs that while very few Ugandans are saving today, there is still great potential and that speaks to the growth of the company.
Going into the market with renewed force, Old Mutual intends to chain its new face with the evolving market demands such as private wealth management for those that seek more than what unit trusts offer. Thus, the rebrand seems to be the icing on the cake as it fits into a series of ongoing innovative solutions. For investment, with the money market fund which also offers short term debt instruments, pension facility under the umbrella trust fund, and the dollar unit trust fund. For a company whose assets under management portfolio places in it in the third place, at Shs794.4bn just after Sanlam Investments East Africa Ltd and GenAfrica Asset Managers Uganda Ltd, it envisions better competition as the market grew by 17.8% to Sh4.6tn last year, from Shs3.9tn at the fall of 2022.
“There will be a lot of automated processes in asset management. We have just launched an app. A number of our customers were interested in a digital app for the unit trusts and it coincides with the rebrand,” Kisesi reveals.
The Insurance Regulatory Authority boss, Alhaj Kaddunabbi Lubega advises that companies within the industry should evolve for the long haul and believes that the development will support the retainment of insurers within the economy.
With the life and non-life companies constituting its insurance division. The latter has registered big performance and been influential even in the much-needed cover for agriculture through the agro-consortium and Uganda’s Oil development through the Insurance Consortium of Oil and Gas (ICOGU) where projects like Kingfisher, Tilenga and EACOP have been cushioned. And there’s more hope. Government plans to double the national savings to 40%. Collectively, the group has placed the rebrand as an integral piece in its commitment towards growth and better market services.
One of Uganda’s leading asset managers and insurance firms, Old Mutual has eventually clinched a uniform market presence after its major rebrand, walking away from UAP Old Mutual, to Old Mutual. The investment and insurance company now no longer has name culture options as it’s currently set to utilize this convergence to improve its array of integrated financial offerings. The rebrand seals 11 years of a merger and acquisition course further shaped by UAP’s acquisition of United Assurance Company at the start of this millennium.
With the rebrand already having happened in neighbouring markets like Rwanda and Kenya, in 2021 and 2023 respectively, Uganda has equally followed suit to create an umbrella of unified operations across Africa. The mood is to ramp it up with improved market products for both investment and insurance.
Implications
The name overhaul will reflect across different markets, including its brokerage counter on Uganda Securities Exchange, and fund management as overseen by the Capital Markets Authority considering the fact that it’s a member firm. While that serves for investment, it will also reflect under insurance. As the move gestures market confidence, different stakeholders have weighed in with optimism.
According to the Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury, Ramathan Ggoobi, there is need to derisk all investments. As such, the improvements will stimulate the demand for insurance. He urges insurers to mobilize more savings, support agro-insurance, demystify insurance by investing in financial literacy and also promote digital solutions.
“The gross national savings rate is low, at about 20%. Each Ugandan prefers to consume 80% of their income. It has ramifications. Shallow credit, less capital accumulation and high dependence on foreign capital,” says Ggoobi. In the same spirit, Zac Kisesi, the Managing Director of Old Mutual investment group informs that while very few Ugandans are saving today, there is still great potential and that speaks to the growth of the company.
Going into the market with renewed force, Old Mutual intends to chain its new face with the evolving market demands such as private wealth management for those that seek more than what unit trusts offer. Thus, the rebrand seems to be the icing on the cake as it fits into a series of ongoing innovative solutions. For investment, with the money market fund which also offers short term debt instruments, pension facility under the umbrella trust fund, and the dollar unit trust fund. For a company whose assets under management portfolio places in it in the third place, at Shs794.4bn just after Sanlam Investments East Africa Ltd and GenAfrica Asset Managers Uganda Ltd, it envisions better competition as the market grew by 17.8% to Sh4.6tn last year, from Shs3.9tn at the fall of 2022.
“There will be a lot of automated processes in asset management. We have just launched an app. A number of our customers were interested in a digital app for the unit trusts and it coincides with the rebrand,” Kisesi reveals.
The Insurance Regulatory Authority boss, Alhaj Kaddunabbi Lubega advises that companies within the industry should evolve for the long haul and believes that the development will support the retainment of insurers within the economy.
With the life and non-life companies constituting its insurance division. The latter has registered big performance and been influential even in the much-needed cover for agriculture through the agro-consortium and Uganda’s Oil development through the Insurance Consortium of Oil and Gas (ICOGU) where projects like Kingfisher, Tilenga and EACOP have been cushioned. And there’s more hope. Government plans to double the national savings to 40%. Collectively, the group has placed the rebrand as an integral piece in its commitment towards growth and better market services.
Leave a Reply