Gary Corbit
10 November 2009
opinion
I have learnt to be wary of visiting foreign insurance executives contacting me out of the blue in order to seek my "local experience" as to Insurance business here in Uganda.
Typically they have already determined their conclusions before meeting me and as exampled last week, appear to believe that after two days in a top hotel, never venturing further than Munyonyo, they know all the issues of Insurance here in Uganda and of course, what the solutions should be. They don't!
Last week I met a visiting insurance executive from a country to the south of our border.
Our meeting was in a local restaurant and within the first minute he declared that all the senior people he had met in his 36 hours in Uganda wanted a commission or a partnership deal and that he was going to report back to his Board that yes there were opportunities in Uganda for insurance but no, business was too difficult because of the "Negative Local Mentality".
I quietly asked him why he was meeting me if he had already made his mind up and he nonchalantly replied, "Well I had no other plans this afternoon and my plane doesn't take off for another 4 hours".
The restaurant waitress, possibly recognising the glint in my eyes, decided to strategically retire to the bathroom and the following paragraph is a précis of my acidic reply.
"I don't know who you have been talking to but let me share with you that one of my closest friends runs an insurance business in Uganda.
He is absolutely the epitome of positive thinking and it is no coincidence that he owns a yacht on the lake which would not look out of place in Monaco, Abu Dhabi or Nice. He runs a global branded service operation that leads the market and would correctly be described as one of Uganda's most successful young businessmen.
All this in just a few short years and there are three fundamental reasons why.... #1. He and his staff are talented, #2. They work extremely hard, #3. Decisions are not based on cursory opinions but facts balanced with sound business logic, synthesized into impeccable implementation plans.
There are many such people here in Uganda and their time is valuable; they should charge US$1,000 per hour to people like you who are quick to condemn but slow to comprehend. Such Ugandans are entrepreneurs not free information service portals so look deeply at your research model if such flawed conclusions are the outcome"
My visitor was shocked. I pressed on by asking whether he had offered to pay any of the people he had met for their time or did he perceive it as a free service.
Rather sheepishly he confirmed that he thought they would simply want to see him as the representative of a foreign investor so I clarified that rather than accusing those he had met of having a "Negative Local Mentality", they were displaying the fundamental driving forces of entrepreneurialism , i.e. "Positive Mental Attitude", so beloved by business school professors. He readily agreed and left somewhat chastened.
Insurance can be a successful business here in Uganda providing one follows the leadership model my friend engages, i.e. employ talented staff, work very hard and make decisions based on facts not opinions. If this is "Negative Local Mentality" then perhaps this particular foreign investor really should go elsewhere because he will fail in the tough world of Ugandan Insurance.
Mr Corbit is the Managing Director of ICEA Limited.
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