Pan Africa Insurance Holdings Limited has rebranded to Sanlam Kenya

Pan Africa Insurance Holdings rebrands to Sanlam Kenya

 August 17, 2016 Rose Welimo Gateway Insurance, Insurance, Pan Africa Asset Management, Pan Africa Insurance Holdings Limited, Pan Africa Life, Sanlam Kenya3

By Nicholus Nduati

Pan Africa Insurance Holdings Limited has rebranded to Sanlam Kenya, a financial services group currently listed on both the Johannesburg and the Namibian Stock Exchange.

Sanlam Kenya CEO Mugo Kibati says the rebrand has positioned the firm to offer Kenyans greater access to a comprehensive and tailored range of insurance and investment financial solutions.

The rebrand according to Kibati aims to offer Kenyan shareholders, clients and other stakeholders the added comfort and security of doing business.

Currently, Sanlam Kenya enjoys an estimated market share of 8 percent in the Kenyan life insurance industry.

The move sees Pan Africa Insurance Holdings subsidiaries, Pan Africa Life, Pan Africa Asset Management, Gateway Insurance and PA Securities also rebrand to Sanlam Life Insurance, Sanlam Investments, Sanlam General Insurance and Sanlam Securities respectively.

Sanlam Kenya has lined up a variety of general insurance and investment financial products to be launched soon.

The Sanlam Group currently has businesses in 33 countries across Africa and first acquired a stake in Pan Africa Insurance Holdings Limited in 2006, following Sanlam’s acquisition of African Life Assurance Group.

Karibu new Pan Africa Holdings CEO - Mugo Kibati. Currently the Chairman of Lake Turkana Wind Power Ltd

Mugo Kibati joins Pan Africa Holdings as Chief Executive 

By GEORGE NGIGI, gngigi@ke.nationmedia.com http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate-News

• The company has been searching for a chief executive after Tom Gitogo resigned to join CIC Insurance in September last year.

Former Vision 2030 director Mugo Kibati has been appointed Group Chief Executive Officer of Pan Africa Insurance Holdings Ltd. He his currently the chairman of Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP) project, which has won the African Renewables Deal of the Year 2014 after it successfully structured Sh70 billion financing. http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Lake-Turkana-wind-project-wins-deal/-/539552/2635528/-/hdd6yl/-/index.html

The position is new to the company which has a life assurance business, general insurance arm - Pan Africa Securities and an asset management subsidiary.

Pan Africa also confirmed Stephen Kamanda as the chief executive of its assurance business.

The company has been searching for a chief executive after Tom Gitogo resigned to join CIC Insurance in September last year.

Mr Kibati previously served as managing director of East African Cables before he was appointed by the government to head the Vision 2030 secretariat. He holds a degree in electrical engineering, a masters degree in international business and a masters degree in technology and policy.

Last week Pan Africa announced issued a profit warning which has seen its share price at the Nairobi Securities Exchange drop by 9.3 per cent in the last five trading sessions.

• The insurer said that gains from the NSE last year were lower compared to 2013, which was further compounded by reduced deals in the property market.
• Analysts said the performance is representative of the insurance industry whose results are influenced by NSE’s.
• Pan Africa’s net profit grew 31 per cent to Sh295.5 million in 2013 and the profit alert means it will post earnings below Sh221 million.

The insurer attributed the drop in profits to lower gains in the equities market compared to 2013 and reduced deals in the property market.

Bitcoin Digital Lessons from M-pesa

Digital Currency Regulation in East Africa

by http://community.ihub.co.ke/blogs/21645/digital-currency-regulation-in-east-africa

Guest Blog: Michael Kimani
What is Bitcoin? – A puzzling question posed by everyone coming across Bitcoin for the first time. The Bitcoin Kenya Meet up group regularly convenes at the iHub for monthly open discussions on this subject. The discussion on November 5 was ‘BitLegal Status Around the World’ – a cursory look at what regulators and government authorities all over have to say about new forms of digital currency. It is important as it defines a domain for regulators in East Africa. Interestingly, regulators just like regular folks, have trouble wrapping their head around ‘What is Bitcoin?’
IMO, Bitcoin is what Nassim Taleb - a scholar, refers to as a black swan–

“An event that comes as a surprise, has a major effect, and is often inappropriately rationalized after the fact with the benefit.

Bitcoin is one of the most important breakthroughs of the digital age since the internet! Bitcoin is a global secure layer on top of the internet with online payment capabilities. Just to get a clear picture of how immense it is, this brief 4min video will get you up to speed.
Bitcoin is a platform with a long list of possible applications built on top of it. One of these apps, is bitcoin, the currency. These features make it a unique global payment network that anyone can take part in. It is a currency, asset, platform, decentralized network – all wrapped into one burrito.
Understandably, government agencies and financial regulators find it difficult to demarcate a regulatory framework for innovative digital currencies such as Bitcoin. Largely, it has been a net positive; a mixed bag of official statements falling on the‘Wait and See’ approach, early guidance on its use, adoption and Bitcoin start-ups. A couple have out rightly banned its use – Iceland and Ecuador in favour of their own digital currency.
Digital Currency Regulation in Kenya – Lessons from Mpesa
In a lot of ways, the ongoing debate on Bitcoin regulation in the rest of the world is surprisingly similar to that of MPESA in its infancy stage (Pre- 2008). Mpesa, just like Bitcoin was a unique innovation that did not fall within existing regulatory framework during the time. A case study report by the AFI [Enabling Mobile Money Transfer – CBKs treatment of Mpesa] pdf here, details the early regulatory considerations of Mpesa involving multiple stakeholders – GoK, National Assembly, Safaricom, Central Bank of Kenya, Banks and the Kenyan public.
In retrospect, we can all agree it was wise to foster Mpesa. Because it remedied an immediate financial inclusion challenge, letting it grow into its potential was crucial all the while adhering to money laundering and money transfer regulations. Was it a bank? Was it a payment network? Did it fall under the law?
Eventually, the ability of this innovation to radically offer access to financial services by the unbanked tipped the scale and won it for Mpesa. A watershed that has defined Kenya in more ways than we can quantify. The Central bank of Kenya commendably handled it well, recognizing the best way to tap into the mobile phone as a money transfer tool.
Bitcoin regulation around the world

Thiswiki is a comprehensive start for a full list of what regulators’ guidance in different countries, albeit several months old has been.
Bitcoin and digital currencies have a place in connecting Kenya and East Africa to the global market and commerce. Mpesa has worked well for money transfers within the country – Bitcoin and digital currencies complement that by making global payments faster, cheaper and straight into/from your phone!  The internet made it possible for all of us to take part in a global economy, Bitcoin enhances global value exchange as cash for the internet!
Finally, if you couldn’t make it for our meet up, you can view the slides here. We are having our next meet up on the 1st of December on ‘Buying, Selling, Trading and Securing Bitcoins’ at the iHub. See the event detailshere. For questions and info, email us atinfo@africandca.orgor myself atmkimani@africandca.org.


About the Author:Michael Kimani is the Lead Coordinator at the ADCA @African_DCA www.africandca.org Based in Nairobi, Kimani advocates bitcoin & digital currencies in East Africa. He also regularly writes on digital finance, electronic payments and digital currencies in East Africa on @pesa_Africa.

How to screw business as usual for start-ups - Virgin.com

How to screw business as usual for start-ups - Virgin.com

Top tips for start-ups on how you can screw business as usual from the beginning.

1) Community Bulding
2) Going Green From the Start
3) Happy people
4) Test Yourself

Screw Business as Usual is Richard Branson's book about changing the world. Just by buying this book you'll make a difference as 100% of Richard's royalties go to Virgin Unite, to support our entrepreneurial initiatives on the front lines.

Gina Din Corporate Communications (GDCC), Meet the Boss Woman, Gina Din-Kariuki.

Meet the Boss: Gina Din-Kariuki, founder and chairwoman at GDCC Kenya

BY Dinfin Mulupi | October 7, 2013 http://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com

Gina Din-Kariuki, founder and chairwoman of GDCC

Meet the Boss is a How we made it in Africa interview series in which we pose the same 10 questions to business leaders across the continent.
1. What was your first job?
I started being an entrepreneur when I was very young. My parents owned a hotel in Nanyuki and I needed to make pocket money. So, I started a disco night in the hotel. I must have been about 15. I would have a disco night twice a week and I would charge an entry fee. That was my first job and business.
2. Who has had the biggest impact on your career and why?
I have had so many really strong shoulders to stand on, I must say that. The person that I grew the most with, professionally, is Michael Joseph (former CEO of Safaricom). We had a very long relationship and I started [working] with him when Safaricom first came. He pushed us to our limits. He made us up our game. We had a very vibrant [relationship]. If there was one person that made me grow professionally I would say it was him.
3. What parts of your job keep you awake at night?
I worry about my brands. If my client is going through something awful then I kind of tend to take on that worry. They are my partners, so whatever my client is going through transfers on to me.
4. What are the top reasons why you have been successful in business?
I am resilient. I am very good networker. I am a connector. My business is all about relationships; that’s all we have. So I am good connector… I generally connect with people at every level.
5. What are the best things about your country?
The resilience. I think Kenyans are the most beautiful people in terms of their spirit [and] the warmth. You know my children [aged 17 and 23] were raised by the same nanny. She is what embodies the Kenyan spirit. She is a strong, resilient, warm, loving person. That for me is what Kenya is all about.
6. And the worst?
I think what is very sad about our country is that we are still so tribal. We will come together at a time when we need to and then as soon as that crisis is over we then go back to our tribal cocoons. It’s sad. I just wonder when we will break out of that cycle because you see it from generation to generation to generation. That is the biggest problem that we have as a country. We need to get out of that.
7. Your future career plans?
My focus is going to be on making my brand an African brand. We are in the region already but, having travelled around Africa in the last two years extensively, I can see the need for an African PR brand. I want to take my seat at the table.
8. How do you relax?
I am one of those people who really enjoys the fruits of my labour. I love doing work that matters, but I love to enjoy what I have worked for. So I travel, I have the most incredible family and I spend a lot of time with them. We do lots of fun thing; we travel to lots of new places. My daughter and I are real adventurists so we are always looking for new places to go. I like massages. I love to spend an evening with friends. I am not a workaholic. I think I used to be but I am not [anymore]. I have now come to a point where I have realised that actually, if you have a passion for what you are doing you don’t need to spend the whole time doing it because when you are [doing] it you are going to do it very well. I love what I do. And money will follow that passion.
When am I off work I do lots of fun things. A lot of the things that I am doing now are meaningful things in terms of using the contacts that I have to create change, getting young people and mentoring them and recently starting my foundation which I am putting a lot of time and effort into. You know I am 52, I want to spend the next few years really making an impact on people’s lives.
9. What is your message to Africa’s young aspiring business people and entrepreneurs?
I would say to them that they should be confident enough to do it. Sometimes we hear a lot of talk… but when it comes to that moment of saying: ‘I am going to put myself out there,’ they panic. You have to be very brave and you have to go out there. You have to be prepared for failure, and it’s not the end of the world. I look at my journey and I have failed so many times. I left my job because I wanted to create my dream job and I did. I created not only my dream job, but I created my dream life. I think that is what is so exciting about something on your own… you are not only creating your dream job, you are creating a dream life [for yourself and] for so many others.
10. How can Africa realise its full potential?
What had happened before is that we helped to prepare the meal, other people ate it… and we didn’t even sit at the table. I think what we are doing now is that we are cooking it and we have brought our stool to the table… and we are taking our seat as global entrepreneurs [and] as a continent that needs to be watched. We are here because this is the best continent for investment, this is the best continent for human capital and we’ve got it going here.
It is so important that we take people with us, that the middle class expands and the way that some of us can help [to do] that is by creating this level of youth coming into entrepreneurship. If they sit there waiting for jobs, they are going to be sitting there waiting forever. Even if you look at every organisation in Kenya, how many people can they realistically employ? Governments need to really push this agenda of youth entrepreneurship. I am really keen on that. I am excited for Africa, I really am.
Gina Din-Kariuki is the founder and chairwoman of Gina Din Corporate Communications (GDCC), a professional communications consulting firm

Nairobi’s Prime Real Estate Growing by 25% faster than Miami (19.1%), London (12.1%).

Kenya’s luxury property market records highest growth globally in 2011

BY Claude Harding | March 29, 2012 at 21:39 http://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com

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Kenya’s luxury real estate saw the greatest price increase globally in 2011, according to Knight Frank’s Prime International Residential Index (PIRI), which monitors price changes across the world’s top-end property markets.
Price growth in both Kenya’s capital Nairobi and the country’s Indian Ocean coastal hot spots was more than any of the other global locations included in the Index, with the value of Nairobi’s prime real estate growing by 25% in 2011 and the Kenyan coast by 20%.
Knight Frank defines “prime property” as a location’s most desirable and usually most expensive real estate.
Kenyan luxury real estate prices grew faster than major cities such as Miami (19.1%), London (12.1%), Moscow (9.8%), New York (3.1%), Shanghai (-3.4%) and Singapore (-4.7%).
It should, however, be noted that Kenya’s growth comes from a base of relatively low luxury property prices. The average price per square metre of prime real estate in Nairobi is only US$1,700, which doesn’t even compare with cities such as Monaco ($58,300/sq m), London ($48,900/sq m), Beijing ($17,400/sq m) or Mumbai ($11,400/sq m).
Increasingly affluent buyers from emerging markets are boosting residential property prices in developed world locations such as Miami, London and Vancouver. “When asked which nationalities will become most important as prime property buyers over the next five years, Chinese, Russian, Middle Eastern, Latin American and those from other growth economies consistently top advisors’ lists,” notes Liam Bailey, head of residential research at Knight Frank.
The reason for this is that many of the newly rich in the developing world fear that issues such as corruption and politics can pose a risk to property investments in their home countries. They therefore prefer safe haven locations such as London, which has a cosmopolitan environment, good education and both personal and property security.
Bailey says that New Zealand’s isolation from the world’s conflict zones makes it possibly the ultimate safe haven destination for the world’s super-rich.
Although ‘safe haven’ isn’t necessarily a phrase many people would use to describe Kenya in a global context, compared to its neighbouring countries it is just that, commented Ben Woodhams, managing director of Knight Frank Kenya.
Woodhams added that Kenya’s fast economic development is attracting domestic and international private equity. However, recent events such as the kidnapping of tourists staying on Kenya’s north coast and a steep rise in interest rates to almost 25% also highlight the potential vulnerability of some emerging prime markets.
Saskia Sassen, co-chair of the Committee of Global Thought at Columbia University and the person who coined the term ‘global city’, said that Nairobi is becoming “increasingly important in a rapidly urbanising world”.

Kenyan Marketer: Business Culture Color Emotion Guide. Confidence!!

Kenyan Marketer: Color Emotion Guide: An infographic by the team at The Logo Company

Twitter Usage In Africa

New research: How Africans are using Twitter

By: Mawuna Remarque KOUTONIN

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012 at 11:28 pm.

This is a cross-post appearing also at http://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com/ 
Micro-blogging platform Twitter is growing in popularity on the African continent, with users from South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt and Morocco leading the pack.
Communications company Portland, in association with Tweetminster, recently released a map of Twitter use in Africa. To produce the map, over 11.5 million Tweets hailing from the continent were analysed. Five-hundred of Africa’s most enthusiastic Twitter users were also surveyed.
It was found that South Africa is the most active African country on Twitter. Total tweets from South Africa were over 5 million in the last three months of 2011. This is more than double the number of tweets from Kenya (2,476,800) during the same period. Nigeria (1,646,212), Egypt (1,214,062) and Morocco (745,620) made up the remainder of the top five most active countries.
It is interesting to note that the number of tweets from the five countries, don’t correspond to the total internet users in each of the territories. For example, Nigeria has far more internet users than South Africa, but South Africans are much more active on Twitter.
Internet users 30 June 2011Source: Internet World Stats

Country	Internet users
Nigeria	43,982,200
Egypt	20,136,000
Morocco	13,213,000
South Africa	6,800,000
Kenya	3,995,500

Portland’s research found that 57% of tweets originating from Africa are sent from mobile phones. The research also shows that 60% of the continent’s most active Twitter users are aged 21 to 29.
Twitter in Africa is mainly used to communicate with friends, with 81% of respondents saying they use the service for social conversation. However, 68% also use Twitter to keep up to date with the news.
Unlike in developed countries, many of Africa’s more public figures are not very active on Twitter. “With some notable exceptions, we found that business and political leaders were largely absent from the debates playing out on Twitter across the continent. As Twitter lifts off in Africa, governments, businesses and development agencies can really no longer afford to stay out of a new space where dialogue will increasingly be taking place,” said Mark Flanagan, Portland’s partner for digital communications.

Business Culture: Why Companies Should Handle Social Media Like Dating

 Author: Muthuri Kinyamu, Kenyan Marketer
Kenyan Marketer: Why Companies Should Handle Social Media Like Dati...: Five Social Media Tips You Can Learn From Dating I know the title of this post arouses curiosity but am about to prove why you...

  2.      TAKE THE MOVE!

After you have the place to do your search, you now take the bold move to approach the girl, so I assume you have already set up the social media channels, well branded and with profiles nicely filled up with information. As you do with dating, you dress properly (branding), take the girl to a nice restaurant, go to church with her and such! So here’s a few tips to help you with that crucial first date!

·         Be bold – Don’t be afraid to share your thoughts, opinions and ideas with her. On social media don’t be neutral! Be a rebel or the hero. Neutral content/discussion doesn’t arouse engagement! Be very keen as you don’t want the girl to curse meeting you same thing, if your content isn’t great on social media, people will leave!

·         Post less –Sharing everything on your mind or what you come across will push her away so is the community you have on social media! You don’t keep calling her and texting all day so the same works with social media! If you're pushing serious content tweeting and posting in the morning may get you RT's. Sharing content when your community is not online will not earn you engagement.  Use Tweriod  to see when you tweet and when your friends/followers tweet. Then tweet during those times to increase engagement. You also need a content plan and a maintenance schedule for all your social media channels with a policy/guidelines as you don’t want admins to post anything!

·         Use the 1/9 tweet rule –Those who only share their own content are transparent and audiences online look at that as purely selfish and switch off quickly. Get in the habit of sharing 9 tweets not about you or your business for every post about you or your business. This way you don’t spam people; the same thing applies to dating- you don’t talk endlessly about yourself! Do less of push marketing, no “Me, me, me’ kind of content. A good ratio of sharing to promoting your own content on Facebook is 4:1 as a minimum (the more you share about other valuable content i.e. less marketing messages, the more you get in return). Be sure you only share content that adds value to your community – content which they’ll find useful. If it’s a mixed up case scenario share content that benefits people across the board.

Being Indispensable

Are You Truly Indispensable At Work--Or Just Fooling Yourself?

By Mark Samuel ©all rights reserved  

inShare

Committing to make yourself indispensable is one of the most important steps you will take toward being successful and living a fulfilling life. Making yourself indispensable is not about position, power, or ego. It is about taking charge, overcoming obstacles, and achieving your dreams at work, at home, and in your life. Making yourself indispensable is made up of six key spokes: being purpose driven, playing big, being adaptable, being we centered, being priority focused, and valuing others. Ultimately, making yourself indispensable is about committing to a bigger purpose than yourself and making a meaningful difference to your organization, your team, your family, and your community.

Making yourself indispensable is for everyone, regardless of your position, role, or lot in life. Today’s business environment doesn’t allow for satisfaction with the status quo. It requires constant growth and change. Being indispensable means that you are adaptable, learning and growing with your organization as it changes and evolves. You remain valuable to your organization, to your team, and to the important people in your life. If you aren’t changing with your organization, in essence you are becoming obsolete. So at the end of the day, you are either working to make yourself indispensable or working to make yourself obsolete.

Have you ever known someone who acted indispensable when they weren’t? Some do this in the form of loud “notice me” or “bow down to me” behavior or in the form of quietly expecting others to give them everything without having to work for anything. In either case, these people don’t give as much as they take, which is the ultimate demise of true indispensability. They are annoying at best and destructive at worst. Let’s explore the makeup of those faking their way to feeling indispensable so that we make sure to avoid this initial trap on the path to being truly indispensable.

Using power and force to make yourself indispensable is popular with people who have strong egos, financial wealth, or positional power. They make themselves indispensable by keeping others unsafe, generally through threat. If they have an aggressive nature, they will yell at others or even use physical force and fear to make people do what they want. In a beverage manufacturing plant in Canada that hired me to build the management team, one manager would yell at his direct reports so loudly when they made a mistake that it could be heard throughout the plant, causing humiliation and embarrassment for his team. They worked in fear of their manager until they banded together and rebelled. In our personal lives, our spouses and children can feel the same fear when our approach to communication involves emotional or physical mistreatment. The result is hurt feelings, shame, and sometimes abuse.

To act indispensable, some people and organizations use their financial advantage to evoke fear by threatening to take away people’s livelihood--whether a job, a home, or the ability to get a loan. Finally, using positional power is one of the most common means of faking indispensability and is most prevalent in the workplace. Employees witness fake indispensability when managers micromanage, dismiss their ideas, or worse, take credit for the solutions implemented by their team.

The second way people create “fake indispensability” is through entitlement. It arises from overprotective parents who never want their children to feel bad about themselves, an education system that doesn’t push its students to excel or gives everyone a passing grade regardless of their test score, or a group that encourages people to feel entitled by. People with an entitled attitude believe they are indispensable based on their mere existence. As long as they are breathing and taking up space at work, they should be paid--even when they aren’t producing results. And worse, if they ever start breathing hard (even without satisfactory results), they expect a bonus. Thinking we are the best when we are not is the surest and quickest path to dispensability.

No matter how smart you are, how physically strong you are, what religion, race, or creed you come from, what your financial status is, what abilities and talents you possess, or what positional power you have over others, you are not indispensable unless you use your gifts and principles in service to other people’s success, improvement, or survival.

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