Jubilee Allianz General Insurance Limited

The Jubilee Insurance Group in Africa was founded in the 1930s to provide life and general insurance across the region. It has grown into the market leader in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi and Mauritius. In 2021 the Group entered a strategic partnership with Allianz. Currently it has over 450,000 clients in East Africa. Jubilee Allianz is listed in the Nairobi Securities Exchange, the Dar-es-Salaam Stock Exchange and the Uganda Securities Exchange, having been rated highly on Leadership, Quality and Risk Management. It has an AA- rating in Kenya and Uganda and an A+ in Tanzania.

Jubilee Allianz has maintained its position as the largest composite insurer in East Africa for the 14th consecutive year. It has retained the number one position in health business in Kenya and Uganda, Uganda short-term business and general business in Tanzania. It is now the top life insurer in Uganda. It is preeminent in the health insurance sector in East Africa, both in terms of gross written premiums and its underwriting results.

Diamond Trust Bank

Established 70 years ago, Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) has matured into a fully fledged commercial banking group in East Africa. It has 135 branches in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi.

DTB primarily serves corporate and SME customers. It offers an array of banking services, including the provision of financial services to over 900,000 customers via alternative delivery channels.

DTB Kenya is listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange and has nearly 12,000 shareholders worldwide. Its key shareholders include AKFED and Habib Bank Limited.

Industrial Promotion Services (IPS) was established in 1963 in response to the expansion of the manufacturing sector after independence. It creates employment in small industries such as the manufacturing of basic consumer goods. After the opening of the free market economy, IPS invested in sectors such as infrastructure, agro-processing, printing and packaging.

Within Tanzania, IPS currently operates two companies acquired through the Government’s privatisation programme. Moshi Leather Industries Limited processes skins and hides into wet blue and crust leather, primarily for the export market. The company is working towards transitioning into processing finished leather.

In 1998, IPS acquired the assets of KIBO Paper Industries and incorporated TLL Printing & Packaging Limited, comprising corrugated cardboard and litho divisions. TLL has received several President’s Manufacturer of the Year Awards for the Paper, Printing and Packaging Segment.

In 2009, IPS and its partners launched the undersea cable SEACOM. This provides Internet connectivity to many East and West African countries.

Frigoken Ltd., one of the largest export-oriented vegetable processors in East Africa, has set up an outgrower scheme in Arusha, Tanzania. It engages over 1,500 small-scale farmers in its value chain.

AKFED’s Tourism Promotion Services (TPS) trades under the brand name Serena Hotels. It promotes tourism in underserved regions by building, rehabilitating and managing hotels, resorts and lodges that contribute to economic growth in an environmentally and culturally sensitive manner. Its first hotel ventures were launched in Kenya in the 1970s. In the 1990s, TPS created the northern circuit of lodges in Ngorongoro, Manyara and Serengeti and established Zanzibar Serena Hotel in Stone Town, Zanzibar.

TPS currently operates 10 hotels, eco-lodges and tented camps in and around Tanzania’s famous national parks, Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam.

Independent media voices are essential to keep citizens informed about their country. To help achieve this, AKFED established the Nation Media Group in Kenya in 1960. It entered the Tanzanian market in 2002 by purchasing the majority shareholding of Mwananchi Communications Limited (MCL).

MCL currently publishes Mwananchi, the Citizen and Mwanaspoti newspapers. Mwananchi, a Swahili daily, has a circulation of 25,000 copies and is the market leader in Tanzania with a market share of 40 percent. The Citizen is an English daily and Mwanaspoti is a sports and entertainment newspaper published twice a week.

Rural communities in southern Tanzania face significant financial challenges and have very limited opportunities to save or obtain loans. To help address these issues, AKF initiated a community-based savings group (CBSG) programme in Mtwara and Lindi in 2009. This strengthens the organisational capacities of over 2,000 local savings groups.

CBSGs provide a better way of managing household cash flow. Women can manage their own financial services. Members can also use loans to purchase supplies, such as tools or fertiliser, enabling them to increase agricultural productivity and household income. Ninety-five percent of savings groups formed by AKF in Mtwara and Lindi have continued to function after they have “graduated” from direct support, assisted by a network of 500 village agents.

Funding for the CBSGs has been via the Financial Sector Deepening Trust, with an average annual budget of US$ 1 million. CBSGs have reached almost 170,000 individuals (66 percent women), helping them save over US$ 2.4 million annually.

In 2016, in order to scale faster and eliminate the risk of cash theft, AKF tested a Digital Savings Group offering with experienced CBGSs in southern Tanzania. AKF continues to build links with private-sector players to develop and sustain the digital platform.