Insurance company, Metropolitan Lesotho held a product summit last Friday to unveil its latest innovations designed to make the lives of Basotho better.
The event was held under the theme: Elevate, Innovate, Dominate
Following the summit, theReporter’s Neo Kolane sat down with Metropolitan Lesotho’s head of brand and marketing, Motsieloa Nonyane, who revealed that the insurance company is taking a bold step in introducing better products.
Metropolitan Lesotho held a Product Summit on Friday, what was it all about?
This was the maiden Product Summit. We are proud of this milestone. The aim of the event is to enhance access to products that Metropolitan Lesotho offer.
The first objective was to introduce an innovative platform under a theme that modernises our client value propositions.
The second objective was to introduce the new Life Insurance offerings that include the Savings category (Sesiu General Savings Plan, Bokamoso Educator Plan, Qhanolla Pensions Plan) as well as the Annuity Category (Life Income Plan and Capital Preservation Plan). These products are expected to help create and protect Basotho’s financial dreams.
The third objective was to demonstrate the integrated client value proposition of all Metropolitan offerings and solutions within the difference lines of business yet within one mission of enabling a financially secure future for Basotho.
The fourth objective was to design creative themes to enable partnerships between local small micro-medium businesses and big enterprises.
We have examples of creating market access through our innovative marketing energy, the likes of Joachim, City Kings as far as Botswana in an effort to promote hospitality ranges.
Can you elaborate on how these new innovations specifically address the unique needs of Basotho, and what kind of real impact do you expect them to have on their daily lives?
We believe it is important to create platforms where there is a shared space that promotes closer-to-home customer education and even intensify product knowledge for users, clients, partners as well as distributors of financial solutions in the Lesotho market.
The existing and new products emphasise financial planning on behalf of Basotho clients and partners.
Daily, individual clients can live their lives and plan within contracted promises that their present and future health, education, savings, retirement and investments are protected against tough life and economic challenges.
Employers and groups can directly focus on the same peace of mind to their broader communities with packages that deliver benefits for the organisation as well as those who support it.
Innovations that include benefit restructuring and pricing options in the life and health insurance spheres mean financial relief as well as more capacity to manage financial challenges. As a regulated company, we find this to be worthy in contributing to financial inclusion, both in the traditional and digital sense.
How did you ensure that the innovations truly align with the cultural, economic, and social realities of Lesotho?
There are category audits that are mandated to gain insight on our market’s perception and realities on the ground. There is also feedback through daily interactions with clients and partners as Metropolitan prides herself on being a good listener. There are other mechanisms as well in place that function to connect the brand to the broader issues at a socio-economic level where Metropolitan is trusted to participate through public-private engagements to ensure that Basotho are put at the centre of daily discourse.
Did Metropolitan engage the local Basotho community in the creation and development of these products? Were there specific insights or feedback from the community that shaped the final offerings?
Yes. As above-mentioned, Basotho, through different for and inside-out mechanisms were engaged to land at innovative decisions that are based on mutual value.
How do you envision the long-term evolution of these products, and how will Metropolitan continue to innovate to enhance the lives of Basotho in the future?
It does.
We appreciate that it was also well received. Since mostly the products are long-term in nature and have been approved by the Central Bank of Lesotho, there is obviously intent to attract more registrations and even intensified product promotions to further boost awareness to Basotho, especially in the rural areas. Insurance is distributed and not bought. Therefore, more insights on usage shall highly be considered for innovation input throughout the journey.
One of the key goals seems to be improving live, how will Metropolitan ensure that these new products are accessible and affordable to a wide range of Basotho, including those in hard-to-reach areas?
Metropolitan carries a collective success mantra signified by the Together We Can song. It is a firm belief that if every Mosotho partners with Metropolitan, a thriving relationship and ultimately economy emerges. Therefore, access is critical and to enable these we boast branch coverage in 13 areas in Lesotho. These zones are geared toward service and financial extensions to the underserved areas of the country. Augmenting these stations is the network of financial advisers who do household and worksite visits to enable quick and responsive undertakings with clients. In the same spirit of innovation, Metropolitan continues to digitalise through offerings such as Tobetsa for Savings.
Were there any key partnerships or collaborations that played a significant role in bringing these innovations to life, and how did these relationships help shape the final products?
Metropolitan Lesotho and its subsidiaries are part of the Momentum Group Limited based in the Republic of South Africa. This arrangement continues to present opportunities and advantages for Basotho as there are economies of scale that are leveraged in the design and development of product benefits and their innovations factoring insights and needs that were mentioned earlier.
We would want to make a special mention to this relationship as more value is put out and captured in direct of more Basotho than a few.
How will Metropolitan gather ongoing feedback from Basotho to ensure that the products continue to meet their needs and make the intended impact over time?
Consistency is key. The methods and mechanism earlier mentioned shall continue to be applied. Tweaks are forever applied where gaps in gaining such precise information and data for a broader representation is required. Moreover, there is a clear and established protocol in monitoring value deliveries to Basotho daily in check with the regulatory requirements.
What’s next for Metropolitan in this movement towards better products and greater benefits? Are there plans to expand this initiative beyond the current products unveiled on Friday?
The Product Summit is a planned flagship programme. There shall of course be other rounds and sessions at different locations and periods.
Importantly, Metropolitan plans to engage both broader and specific audiences that can benefit from enhanced product knowledge and customer education.
