live-with-confidence Live with confidence

With true inclusion in mind, Sanlam recently announced it would reboot its business to focus on giving millions of Africans the chance to live with financial confidence. This purpose will be realised in an expanded product offering, data and digital transformation, empowerment, building a future-fit culture, innovation and partnerships.

Paul Hanratty, CEO of Sanlam, says the pandemic has placed a harrowing spotlight on how vulnerable the impoverished are, both in our country and across the continent. “Everyone deserves an equal chance at living a better life, at inclusion in the mainstream economy. At the intersection of financial inclusion and financial security, you find financial confidence. That is where we will continue to build capacity, across Africa and beyond.”

Hanratty says true inclusion goes beyond access to banks and credit. It’s about ensuring the previously marginalised have access to well-functioning financial infrastructure. It also means equipping individuals with the financial confidence to manage their money.

The IMF ranks Africa’s growth prospects between 2018 and 2023 as one of the highest in the world and our continent is also home to the world’s fastest growing middle class. The potential is immense, but only if it can be unlocked. “By imprinting ‘Live with confidence’ in the DNA of every aspect of our business, from the financial adviser’s meeting with a client to the development of new offerings, we will empower generations to be financially confident, secure and prosperous.”

Sydney Mbhele, Chief Executive: Brand at Sanlam, says Sanlam’s new payoff line, ‘Live with confidence’ will be brought to life through a range of initiatives, adding that the rebranding goes beyond ‘beautiful words’: “It’s an enabler for the business. Sanlam has always had this notion of empowerment at its heart – from its founding mission in 1918 to empower poor Afrikaners to pioneering South Africa’s first BEE transaction in 1993. We are going back to our roots of empowerment and articulating this in a more purposeful way.”

Mbhele says that to live with confidence is a feeling of empowerment that comes from knowing you’re in control of your life, “Financial confidence gives you a better chance of reaching the goals that matter to you. It’s accessible to everyone, whether you have a lot or a little, irrespective of age and stage. It is a mindset of abundance rather than scarcity. We believe the way you feel about your finances drives how you act. And those actions can have a profound impact on how securely and prosperously you live your life.”

The Sanlam Group has long been committed to investing in Africa’s potential. As the continent’s largest non-banking financial services provider in 33 African countries and counting, it has invested R630 million in the communities it operates in, in the last 10 years alone, through its Sanlam Foundation. It also contributed over R5 billion to relief and rejuvenation efforts to revive African economies during the COVID-19 crisis.