Law Union boos sees growth opportunity in insurance, leasing partnership  

A partnership between insurance and leasing industries would lead to synergies that could help players in both sectors deepen penetration in untapped areas of the economy,
Jide Orimolade, managing director/CEO, Law Union & Rock Insurance Plc  has said.
Jide Orimolade who spoke at the Elan Frist Quarter Business Forum held in Lagos  said there are key areas of the economy including agriculture, education, healthcare and transportation sector with huge potentials where leasing and the insurance industry are yet to fully tap into.
Speaking on the theme “Building Synergy Between Insurance and Leasing Industry Opportunities, Product Development and Key Success Factors” Orimolade said “we need to move away from transaction approach and focus on long term, formidable partnerships to create the needed synergy, cut cost, and improve operational efficiency in order to move our companies forward.”
“There are lots of opportunities for us if we create and maintain a seamless handshake between the insurance industry and leasing companies.”
He stated that Nigeria has the largest population in Africa and one of the largest globally, presenting  huge potential market for our business, stating that the nation’s domestic economy is large and relatively robust for future expansion of insurance and leasing businesses.
“Agricultural sector holds the future of our economic growth. It is projected that by the end of 2020, it becomes the mainstay of our national economy. There is also government’s deliberate effort and policy to drive growth in the sector through several initiatives.
“More and more people and companies are going into farming and his present huge opportunity for agricultural equipment leasing as well as opportunity for agricultural insurance products. There is need for us to build capacity especially in terms of knowledge base in order to serve this sector profitably because there are complex risk dynamics in the agriculture business that require experience professionals to help dissect for effective and profitable underwriting. The leasing companies also must take cognizance of the unique nature of these risks in order to enable it recover funds extended to customers in this sector.”
He further said that the “Transportation sector is another area we have to look into very critically. This sector is very strategic as it serves all the other sectors and changes in this sector directly influence changes in the other sector.
“Education sector is another area that holds the ace in terms of opportunity for insurance and leasing products. The number of private schools in Nigeria has risen very rapidly in the last 10 years. Despite rising school fees, we see the determination of parents to send their children to ‘best private schools’. For private schools to survive competition and remain in business, they strive to improve on their facilities – building quality and aesthetics, electricity supplies, science laboratories, computer and information technology and communication equipment, school buses, etc. all these require substantial level of funding. As we collaborate in this sector, we will see improvement in our leasing to schools and educational endowment and related insurance products.
“Healthcare sector is also on the growth path although not as fast as the education, agriculture and transport sector. It is also large in size and holds opportunities for us to jointly explore.”
Association calls for long term investment in small scale farming.
Small Scale Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria (SWOFON) has called for long term investment in small scale farming to boost food production and alleviate poverty.
Mary Afan, the President of SWOFON made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday.
“The investment will promote and support long-term sustainable agriculture practices that can assist people in rural areas to adapt to climate change and reduce scarcity of natural resources, such as water and forests.
“Significant climate events such as devastating droughts and floods are hitting small scale farmers more frequently, and there is an urgent need to help them cushion the effect.’’
Afan said that there was need to assist small scale farmers with soft loans to enable them meet the demands of the planting season.
This, she noted would boost food security as well as ensure revenue generation to the small scale farmers.
“Failure to restore food production now will lead to the worsening of widespread and severe hunger in the country.
“We want to be able to achieve more reliable, profitable and sustainable production, increase our flexibility and transform the livelihoods of our members.
“We also want to be able to promote rural food security, alleviate poverty and adapt to climate change.
“Women and small scale farmers have great potential to reduce poverty in the country and will need to increase productivity levels which are currently very low.’’
According to her, women in Nigeria constitute about 60 to 80 per cent of the agricultural labour force.
She however, expressed concern that their access and support to agricultural related services of credit, inputs, technology, training and advice were limited.
The SWOFON president said that the association would key into all government agriculture programmes with a view to reducing the poverty level of women farmers if presented with the opportunity.
To this end, she said the association would mobilise more women, build their capacity and engage them on the need for increased investment in the sector.
She said that the association would also create market linkages, value chain development and engage with other stakeholders to advocate for inclusion of its members in budget and planning processes. (NAN)