The mobile phone company MTN signed a partnership agreement with the financial services group Sanlam on Thursday August 12, 2021. This agreement will make it possible to offer mobile financial services and insurance to populations in Africa.

Sanlam and MTN Group have entered into a strategic partnership to develop Insurtech in Africa. According to information published on Financial Afrik, the South African insurer will offer the South African telecom operator its services via mobile phone. This new agreement will allow the two partners to sell important insurance products in Africa via digital. Under the terms of the agreement, Sanlam will provide a digital insurance and investment business, which will be an integral part of MTN's fintech offering. “We are very proud to be able to partner with MTN to create the best possible range of insurance and investment solutions for consumers. We expect strong long-term growth in mobile financial services and insurance, and investments are no exception,” said Paul Hanratty, Chief Executive of Sanlam Group.

For his part, MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita indicated that Sanlam is the ideal partner as Africa's leading insurance and investment company, and with a key partnership in its strategic approach and execution. According to him, the mobile phone company has built a large-scale fintech company with more than 100 million wallets, about half of which are actively using mobile money services every month. This represents a significant opportunity to further drive financial inclusion through the provision of appropriate insurance and investment solutions. Thus, MTN InsurTech companies will be able to have more than 30 million policyholders by 2025, compared to approximately 6 million active policyholders according to current statistics.