AXA renews commitment to African market’s growth

AXA Mansard Insurance Plc, a member of the AXA Group and global leader in insurance and asset management organisation, has revealed plans to increase growth in the African market, with Nigeria as a top priority, to boost its market share across the continent’s economies.

The Chief Executive Officer, International and New Market at AXA, Benoit Claveranne, on his first visit to Nigeria and tour of the local subsidiary, said the company had strong conviction that the emerging markets have the ability to leapfrog on many existing technologies for market development.

Claveranne said that AXA is trying to bring in the knowledge and the expertise that would transform the key strategic decisions, combine it with global best practices, including being first for growth, innovation and popularity in emerging markets.

“We have the idea that if we combine these strategies well, we will have a bright future in those markets, including Nigeria,” he said.

According to him, there is huge believe in the fundamentals of the Nigerian market because it is a long-term business and not short-term and when you look at the fundamentals of the Nigerian economy, like population, strong GDP, strong growth in the middle class, that calls more and more protection.

“Hence, if you want to be relevant in Africa, you need to have a presence in the largest country of the continent and that is why the company is collaborating with other stakeholders in the insurance market to improve adoption or uptake of insurance product through public enlightenment.

We believe it is the first market in Africa, and we are making sure we invest in the development of local technical capacity.

“We believe that to focus on these two things, we stand a chance of benefiting from the opportunities that we see in the market. You recall that about nine years ago, we started a public enlightenment campaign in Nigeria with a few players in the market.

“There is also an on-going campaign that involves the whole market, including the regulator, as it is clear that everyone recognises the fact that there is need for public enlightenment,” he added.