23 Mar 2022

National Development Bank (NDB) and Botswana Insurance Holdings Limited (BIHL) group have partnered to widen the scope of insurance cover for NDB products.

Speaking at the launch of NDB Insurance Agency on Tuesday, the Deputy Permanent Secretary, responsible for financial policy, at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Ms Boikanyo Mathipa, said NDB was propelled by new information and technology as well as calls from customers to have a one stop service centre.

She said the one stop centre would give customers relieve from attending to multiple service providers at different places.

Ms Mathipa said would be convenient for customers to access services under one roof. The partnership, she said would benefit both small and medium enterprises across various sectors and in the process promote financial inclusion.

In addition she said financial inclusion was critical to empowering a greater number of people to participate in growth enhancing economic activity and fostering opportunities. She confirmed that the agency was officially licensed by the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority on November 30, 2021, and it would be offering Banc assurance products.

Ms Mathipa also added that the Banc assurance would be done through a partnership between NDB and BIHL subsidiary companies being Botswana Life and Botswana Insurance Company (BIC). In many instances she said, droughts, diseases, effects of climate change and negative economic downturns could affect the customer’s ability to service their loan facilities.

“This level of investment requires risk mitigation instruments, and it is my belief that through this partnership, we will see more agricultural insurance products being offered to support the growth of agriculture in Botswana” she said.

Ms Mathipa said the partnership between NDB and BIHL was a clear demonstration of how the private sector could work together with public institutions and thus called for more Public Private Partnerships (PPPs).
It is worth noting that NDB has a development mandate, to deliver solutions that promote the economic growth of the country and any insurance product would assist the bank in fulfilling its mandate.

She said it was her hope that small and medium enterprises from various industry sectors, including agriculture, would derive a lot of benefit through the partnership, adding that such partnerships also enhanced collaboration, and sharing of knowledge to aid transformation of the country’s economy.

For his part, the BIHL group CEO, Mr Ronald Samuels said the NDB Insurance Agency was established to offer insurance product solutions that would cushion customers against various risks, while diversifying NDB’s income streams, as well as helping grow its impact and potential reach.

This union was designed for powering positive progress and changing the lives of people across Botswana through inclusive and sustainable financial services solutions, he said. Mr Samuels said the partnership would also contribute to NDB’s client value proposition, access to integrated financial solutions and financial services from a single location, as a one “One Stop Shop”.

The partnership also provided an opportunity for capacity building by Botswana Life Training Academy, with training and up skilling of NDB staff on insurance products and education and awareness on the insurance landscape, he added.

Mr Samuels said they would further support the sales process and salespeople stationed at NDB branches by ensuring customer needs were met as per the guidelines of the regulator and indeed BIHL’s own excellence standards.

“As we further navigate and embrace opportunities for digital transformation as a means towards seamless customer service, we are excited at the fact that across both Botswana Life and BIC, we have strong and inclusive, accessible digital channels to support customers, which NDB customers now benefit from too,” he said. ENDS