AIO Presidency, A Platform To Implement My Dreams For African Insurance Markets – Tope Smart
Mr. Tope Smart, incoming President of AIO
The incoming President of the African Insurance Organisation (AIO), Mr. Tope Smart as expressed excitement for becoming the AIO President just as he revealed some of his plans.
He said the position, apart from giving him the opportunity to collaborate with leaders of insurance companies in other African countries, will also make a way for him to initiate and implement some of the dreams and visions he has for the insurance industry in Africa.
Smart said this in a telephone interview with this medium.
According to him, “I feel very excited becoming the AIO President because it will give me the opportunity to strike synergy and partnership with leaders of insurance companies in other African countries to be able to initiate and implement some of my dreams for the insurance industry in Africa in general,” Mr. Smart said.
On his plans for the insurance industry in Nigeria, he said, “What I intend to do as the President of AIO to impact the Nigerian insurance industry is to see what is working in the insurance industry in other African countries that made them to contribute much more than we are doing to the economies of those countries such as South Africa with a penetration rate of 14 per cent; Kenya with a penetration rate of 2.5 per cent and some other countries that are doing much better in terms of the insurance.
“So some of those things are what I will look at critically and ensure they are also implemented in Nigeria and also those that we need to implement locally to enable us to increase our penetration rate; we will also liaise with relevant government agencies to make sure that they are implemented.
“I will partner with relevant government agencies to ensure full implementation of compulsory insurances; of course this is critical for the growth of the insurance industry in Nigeria.
Tope Smart, a graduate and an award winner from the University of Lagos also holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
He is an Associate member of both the Chartered Insurance Institute of London and the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria. Tope, an astute professional, believes very strongly in the entrenchment of insurance in the mind of every Nigerian.
He is a Council member, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, Councilmember, West African Insurance Companies Association (Ghana), Councilmember, Nigeria-Britain Association, Vice President, African Insurance Organization (AIO) and a past Chairman of the Nigeria Insurers Association to mention but a few.
Tope sits on the board of several companies amongst which are RegencyNem Insurance (Ghana) Limited and NEM Asset Management Limited. In 2014, he was appointed by the Federal Government as Co-Chairman of the Insurance Industry Transformation Committee.
He was also recently appointed as Chairman, Planning Committee of the University of Lagos Alumni Association’s Golden Jubilee Anniversary. In recognition of his outstanding achievements, Tope has won several awards among which are Distinguished Alumnus by the University of Lagos, University of Lagos Alumni Association Golden Jubilee Special Recognition Award amongst others.
He is also a two-time winner of the Business day Top 25 CEOs award. Tope is an alumnus of Harvard Business School.
