The secret behind Old Mutual’s successful financial year 2023

Appearing on Citizen TV’s Power Talk, Arthur Oginga Old Mutual Group CEO, said part of this success is attributed to the group’s move to provide services that are relevant to their customers, coupled with consolidating services to effectively and efficiently serve the customers. 

Some services Old Mutual introduced are telemedicine, telecounseling and Meds on Wheels in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, as many people remained confined in their homes to avoid spreading the virus.

Oginga said the group has also taken into consideration emerging issues such as cyber-attacks and climate change, and it’s reengineering its products towards addressing these issues.

“We are looking at climate covers that can protect our customers through the changes. We are also ensuring that we invest in products or businesses that promote sustainable activities,” Oginga said.

Old Mutual’s success is also attributed to putting the customers at the centre of everything and relying heavily on data to make decisions. The group is also agile and quick to respond to customer needs.

With a new app in place, customers and their intermediaries are self-servicing, something that has made the business fast and reliable.

“We have invested in AI and machine learning models that are enabling us to come up with more personalised products, personalised pricing for customers and driving efficiencies in our processes,” Oginga added.

One of the biggest setbacks for Old Mutual was its debt, but Oginga says the group’s shareholders have agreed on a debt structure that will see some of the dollar debt converted into the local currency.

To promote financial literacy and help potential customers make informed decisions, Oginga revealed that Old Mutual has partnered with the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) to include financial literacy courses in the junior secondary curriculum.

He said a pilot has been conducted and the results are promising so far.

“Not only are the students and learners more engaged financially, but also communities are now getting more involved in financial literacy,” he added. 

Through the Old Mutual Foundation, the group has also been running literacy programmes in some of the public universities in the country, and Oginga says so far, over 11k students have benefited from the programme.