The Namibia National Reinsurance Corporation Ltd (NamibRe) has described as a success the second edition of the Namibia Women in Finance and Insurance Summit held recently in Windhoek.
The Summit attracted over 355 delegates from all over the world, with 153 attending the conference in person while others participated virtually.
This was a great improvement from the inaugural event that was only physically attended by 20 people due to Covid-19 restrictions, while nearly 280 delegates attended virtually.
“This year’s delegates came from Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Egypt, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Germany, Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, United Kingdom, and Zimbabwe,” said NamibRe Managing Director, Patty Karuaihe-Martin.
She said diversity in the insurance and financial sector was only possible through support.
“All I can tell you is how the discussions reminded us of the importance of this platform. I walked away from the one-and-half day summit reminded of my role as a female leader in empowering young future female leaders and transforming the industry through diversity and inclusion. Indeed, sisterhood is key among us as women to be able to support each other all the way to the top as there is enough space for all of us there,” she said.
Martins said this year’s Summit was also attended by their male counterparts to ensure that the industry achieves gender equality, diversity and inclusivity in the workplace.
She added that male CEOs in the industry are always “making the decisions on our behalf” and they need to be involved in the conversation for them to appreciate what women need to succeed.
Martins related her journey that moulded her in the MD of NamibRe.
“I was merely 6 years old when I started working in my family business and at 12 my dad passed away unexpectedly, and we had to support my mother to run the business. The skills I got there have helped me to run NamibRe today as a MD,” she related.
Martins thanked partners including Africa Re, Bank Windhoek, MunichRe, Letshego Bank, Sanlam Namibia, Standard Bank Namibia, Motor Vehicle Fund, Bank of Namibia, Swiss Re, Momentum Short Term, Momentum Investments, NBC, Santam Namibia, FMRE Botswana, Waica Re, Oman Re, AlexForbes, Phoenix Assurance Namibia, and Hollard Namibia for making the Summit a success.
The rising executive also showed her appreciation to the local organising committee consisting of Bank Windhoek, Hollard Namibia, NamibRe, NBC, Liberty Life, Santam Namibia, momentum and Standard Bank.
She announced that NamibRe will be launching a few initiatives this year such as “The Working Women for Change in Finance and Insurance in Namibia”.
