(Bloomberg) -- Britam Holdings Plc expects to more than triple assets under management in its retail segment as Kenya’s biggest listed insurer develops savings, protection and investment products aimed at young people.
The firm with operations in seven countries sees 100 billion shillings ($776 million) of AUM by the end of next year, from 30 billion shillings currently, Chief Executive Officer Tom Gitogo said in an interview in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. In total, it has 200 billion shillings under management now.
Customer numbers should climb by 40% during the same period as Britam tailors products to fit the youth market.
“Instead of permanent insurance, they want specific insurance for only when they travel,” Gitogo said of younger clients. Many of them also want savings products geared toward special occasions or for their first home, he said.
In addition to Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan, Mozambique and Malawi, Britam — controlled by private equity firm AfricInvest — plans entry into the Democratic Republic of Congo by year-end. Ethiopia, Africa’s second-biggest market by population, will then be in its sights, Gitogo said.
“Highly populous countries are attractive to us,” he said. “They need to have some similarities with East Africa. We acknowledge that the geographical expansion shouldn’t just be a flag-planting exercise.”
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