The Botswana Insurance Holding Limited (BIHL) Group strengthens its partnership with its key clients as it hosted the Sanlam Emerging Markets (SEM) CEO Mr. Heinie Werth at the recently held Shareholder Cocktail Engagement at the Gaborone International Convention Centre (GICC).
Said BIHL Group Acting Board Chairman, Mr. Mahube Mpungwa, “Sanlam is the majority shareholder of the BIHL Group with a 58% stake and while Batswana hold 42% shares. Sanlam has therefore been a key partner in working to help capacitate and support us in the deliverance of our purpose of improving livelihoods. At the BIHL Group, we oftentimes speak of leveraging “Strength in Numbers”, both literally and figuratively, with a broad and significant footprint in many countries across Africa.
Sanlam is a key part of 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.”
Speaking at the event, Sanlam Emerging Markets CEO, Mr. Heinie Werth said, “We have been partners with the BIHL Group for almost 20 years and it is indeed a privilege to be here today after so many years of not visiting this great country. This partnership has been beneficial for both Sanlam and the BIHL Group. ‘Our People’ is one of our defining pillars of strength because we are primarily a people as a business, and we are continuously working to improve how we service, develop products and solutions for our valued clients.
Therefore, as Sanlam, 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 in the competitive vanguard, this goes well for BIHL Group, our trusted partner.”
Said the BIHL Group CEO, Ms. Catherine Lesetedi, “As the BIHL Group, we continue to add value to the lives of Batswana as well as the growth of the economy through partnerships such as these with our shareholders, clients, brokers and sales force. Over the years we have seen tremendous growth in the business and our staff have had the opportunity to get professional developments as well.
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. Through Sanlam we have been able to broaden our relevance and increase our markets; our employees have had the opportunity to expand their professional scope by being exposed to new perspectives and expertise.”
As the BIHL Group, we continue to add to our unique insights, heritage, and passion to help improve livelihoods and grow for and with Batswana and appreciate how far we come. This is why we are so unwavering in our commitment to empowering Botswana and Batswana, building brighter futures well into the future.
“So, we are historically, culturally, and philosophically in tune with Sanlam’s purpose of “Empowering generations to be financially confident, secure and prosperous” and our purpose of “Improving livelihoods” of Batswana in order to improve healthy, vibrant and resilient communities. We truly live in testing but exciting times and before I conclude I just want to say, I am optimistic about the future and let us work together to shape it for the better; for our future legacy engineers,” concluded Lesetedi.
