Insurers Eye 500m Mobile Users as Cairo Conference Charts New Growth Path
The 52nd African Insurance Organisation (AIO) Conference and Annual General Assembly in Cairo, Egypt, has challenged Nigerian insurers to tap Africa's 500 million mobile subscribers and accelerate digital adoption to drive insurance penetration and premium growth.
Industry experts said the conference provided a clear roadmap for insurers seeking growth in a market long constrained by weak penetration, noting that the implementation of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025 has created a regulatory environment that can support rapid expansion.
The call came as the Commissioner for Insurance, Olusegun Omosehin, declared at the conference that Africa's low insurance penetration should be viewed as a multi-billion-dollar growth opportunity rather than a market weakness, citing the continent's existing premium pool of about $68 billion.
Insurance executives who attended the conference argued that the biggest challenge facing operators was no longer product availability but distribution, warning that conventional agency networks would continue to leave millions of potential customers outside the insurance ecosystem.
According to industry estimates discussed at the conference, Africa's digital economy now includes more than 500 million mobile wallet users, offering insurers a ready-made platform to distribute retail insurance products without the heavy costs associated with physical branch expansion.
The experts urged Nigerian insurers to accelerate partnerships with telecommunications companies, fintech firms and digital payment providers to deliver insurance products through mobile applications, unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) channels and embedded financial services.
The Director-General of the Nigerian Insurers Association, Bola Odukale, said the Cairo conference reinforced the need for operators to rethink traditional distribution models and embrace technology-enabled channels capable of reaching millions of Nigerians currently excluded from insurance services.
According to her, the industry can no longer depend solely on conventional agency networks if it hopes to achieve meaningful penetration growth.
“The opportunities are enormous. What the Cairo conference has shown is that insurance penetration can improve significantly when operators leverage existing digital infrastructure and focus on solving customers' real-life risks through accessible products,” she said.
President/Chairman of the Council of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, Yetunde Ilori, said innovation must be matched with capacity development and professional competence. She noted that the increasing deployment of policies across digital platforms requires continuous training to ensure ethical standards, customer protection and sustainable growth.
