Epicure Insurance Brokers Limited has marked its 10th anniversary with a gala in Lagos, where the company outlined plans to expand its scope of services, accelerate digitisation and deepen insurance penetration in Nigeria. The company's managing director/CEO, Oyinpreye Aigbogun, stated that the next phase of growth would focus on expanding opportunities in the insurance market through stronger collaboration and integration of insurance into different areas of financial services.
Aigbogun noted that Nigeria's insurance penetration remained low compared with some African countries, including South Africa and Ghana, presenting opportunities for insurance operators, regulators and industry advocates to expand coverage and improve public understanding of insurance. She emphasised that collaboration would be central to the company's strategy over the next decade, particularly in making insurance an integral part of financial services and everyday economic activities.
The company's chairman, Obinnia Abajue, highlighted the importance of relationships, shared values and trust in building the company over the last decade. In his welcome address at the anniversary gala, Abajue said the company's journey had involved overcoming challenges while pursuing business opportunities and making decisions that aligned with its core values. He explained that the founders had chosen to prioritise sustainable values over opportunities that did not reflect the kind of organisation they wanted to build.
Ibrahim Zibiri, an entrepreneur and long-standing Epicure client who delivered the keynote address, emphasised the importance of profitability, human capital, strong business foundations and adaptability in ensuring that businesses survive and grow in challenging economic conditions. He argued that profitability was necessary for businesses to reinvest in the structures required for long-term sustainability, while stressing that employees remained central to achieving those objectives.
Zibiri also highlighted the need for businesses to adapt to technological changes, including artificial intelligence, while ensuring that employees possessed the expertise to use such tools effectively. On insurance, Zibiri drew from his own experience as a customer of Epicure, explaining that the company had helped arrange cover for machinery, personal valuables and other business assets.
In a goodwill message, Atedo Peterside, founder of IBTC (now Stanbic IBTC Bank), commended Epicure for reaching its 10-year milestone, noting the challenges involved in sustaining a business over a decade, particularly in the insurance sector. He encouraged the company to maintain the structures, business model, ideas and practices that had supported its growth, while continuing to build on the foundations established over the past 10 years.
Epicure is a leading insurance and reinsurance broker in Nigeria, offering customer support services in general, life, health and specialist risk insurance. The company's 10-year journey has been marked by a commitment to excellence, integrity, and consistently doing the right thing, even when no one is watching, according to Aigbogun. The company aims to continue protecting its clients and the people and assets that mattered most to them, despite changes in the business environment.
Key points
- Epicure Insurance Brokers plans to expand its scope of services and accelerate digitisation to deepen insurance penetration in Nigeria.
- The company's growth over the past decade is attributed to its commitment to excellence, integrity, and consistently doing the right thing.
- Collaboration will be central to Epicure's strategy over the next decade, particularly in making insurance an integral part of financial services and everyday economic activities.
