MIP HOLDINGS
MIP HOLDINGS
Perfect Partner to Avoid the App Gap PRODUCTION: David Napier
As more businesses make the inevitable jump, taking services online or fully digital, now is the time to find a partner that can deliver software and IT services for the next generation of demanding consumers. MIP Holdings is one of Africa’s leading specialists when it comes to apps, software and digital tech and is waiting to find you a solution.
//
Turn back the clock, even just a few years, and you’ll find that the way we enquire about and purchase financial services has changed dramatically – this is no surprise. With technological advances and people’s demand for instantaneous service, the pace of change has been swift. Go back one decade and people were walking into banks and insurance branches and talking with
2 / www.enterprise-africa.net
salespeople about products. Today, everything is online, everything is done through an app, everything is quick and convenient. Again, this news is not new but for those that are serious about change accept that change is an ongoing process - something which needs constant attention. For example, tech has allowed business to reach further, higher and faster than ever before. A small insurance company
can no offer its products and services to clients all over the world from a small office in the middle of nowhere. It can reach different contact points very quickly, and respond to customer needs at the touch of a button. But, as an industry, the success of tech has seen it swamped with players who cannot deliver. This is why partnering with the right organisation is important.
www.enterprise-africa.net / 3
INDUSTRY FOCUS: TECHNOLOGY
MIP Holdings is a leading provider of affordable business/IT solutions to the financial services industry in emerging markets. Headquartered in Bryanston, Johannesburg, MIP has been serving its customers with software and IT solutions for 29 years. Today, MIP serves more than 13 million policy holders/participants on a daily basis. It is the world’s only software company delivering solutions across the financial service verticals. Known for its success in the insurance industry, designing and developing software that aids in the collection of employee contributions, MIP is entering a new phase in its
existence as the demands of software, tech and apps from clients and customers become more challenging than ever before. Traditionally a strong player in its home market of South Africa, MIP is also targeting expansion on the African continent, where both technology and financial services are burgeoning industries. “We want to become a major player on the African continent from an insurance perspective, that is our big drive,” says CEO, Richard Firth. “The advent of the app has been one of the biggest changes in the industry over the years.
// WE WANT TO BECOME A MAJOR PLAYER ON THE AFRICAN CONTINENT FROM AN INSURANCE PERSPECTIVE, THAT IS OUR BIG DRIVE //
4 / www.enterprise-africa.net
Communication has fundamentally changed the way we can operate.” While MIP’s focus on its core products will remain, growth into exciting new spheres, especially in the app world, is providing many fresh opportunities. Firth refers to this smart world as social infrastructure and states that developing products that easily meet the needs of business and customers in a user-friendly way is vital. “I call it socialising the infrastructure,” he says. “This really translates to a new era when machines or systems will begin to socialise with consumers. For this to become a reality, the traditional business system needs an arsenal of functionality to truly bind the system, with a consumer sitting on the other end of a mobile app running on a multitude of devices.” Development of this kind of
At SAMWUMED it’s important that we build lasting business relations, therefore our partnership with industry leading companies such as MIP whose system we work on, allows us to better manage our membership information and ensuring an effective communication strategy between the Scheme and its members and beneficiaries at all times. The Scheme together with MIP have embarked on several projects that have assisted the Scheme in managing costs and the utilisation of technology in our communication efforts continues to be an important aspect of our business relationship with the likes of MIP.
SAMWUMED continues to be one of the Top Most Sustainable Medical Schemes within the 10 largest closed medical Schemes in South Africa, according to the Alexander Forbes Sustainability Index Report 2017. The index measures key factors that contribute to the sustainability of the 10 largest open and the 10 largest closed medical schemes in South Africa. This is based on; size and scale, membership growth and profile, financial results, as well as the scheme’s solvency levels. According to the results, SAMWUMED was recognised for its improvements in its operating results in a tough economic climate, as well as substantial increases in both the Scheme’s reserves and solvency ratio. The award is testament of the Scheme’s dedication to creating affordable healthcare for its members, as well as for its commitment to promoting universal healthcare in the country.
021 697 9500 www.facebook.com/Samwumed www.samwumed.org info@samwumed.org C/O Trematon & Lascelles Streets, Athlone, Cape Town, 7700
INDUSTRY FOCUS: TECHNOLOGY
// EVERYONE IS LOOKING AT BECOMING A TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS BECAUSE IF YOU DON’T, YOU’LL LOSE OUT // software is now more important than ever as businesses turn to apps to easily and affordably communicate with mass numbers of consumers. The alternative is falling into what Firth ters the “app gap”. This is different to chat-bots or robo-advisors which have been used in the insurance and telecoms sectors, and which have gained popularity with developers after the growth of the home assistant such as Alexa, Google Home and Apple’s HomePod. The use of AI for tasks has been welcomed by the insurance industry. Global giant, Aviva and CEO Mark Wilson recently commented that the industry had long been living in the ‘stone age’
6 / www.enterprise-africa.net
and the time for partnering with tech companies was now. “The last few years have been very good. Obviously, technology is playing a bigger role in financial services, and that is true for all businesses – everyone is looking at becoming a technology business because if you don’t, you’ll lose out. There’s a transition underway and everything is going digital,” agrees Firth. “We are seeing a shift in the call centre model,” he adds. “We’ve built an automated FAQ input section into software and it’s becoming chat like. Traditionally, email and SMS has been popular but we’re finding in the large consumer space that email is no longer
an effective communication method so we are building in digital stamps to recognise people and prevent fraud. We are also working on an important product called the Central Calendar which is like a Facebook timeline where the business has a timeline view of the consumer. Traditionally, we could post prompts in outlook to remind someone to renew a product; now we have centralised all the data and we can show it like a Facebook timeline which is imperative for customer service. We are also integrating the ‘invisible app’ where our app can integrate with other app services. For example, if we want to show the consumer the weather forecast where they are – we don’t build a weather app, we integrate with another weather services and other risk services while all the while sharing information.” At the recent Dubai World Insurance Congress, tech was in the
MIP HOLDINGS
// THERE’S A TRANSITION UNDERWAY AND EVERYTHING IS GOING DIGITAL // spotlight with commentators and industry specialist suggesting that emerging technologies such as AI and blockchain are going to redefine business models of insurance firms in the digital world. MIP sits perfectly positioned to partner with, not only South Africa’s very strong financial organisations, but also with global players. “Our key differentiator is that we operate in any of the insurance silos, from healthcare through to pension fund administration and life insurance. We have many touchpoints in the
financial service chain. We don’t have any competitors who can compete in every one of those spaces,” says Firth. “We compete with company’s in each individual space and what we’re finding is to achieve economies of scale and price competitiveness, it’s becoming imperative to have volume. We have a R&D team of 35 people and they focus on where technology is going and how it can help us change the consumer interaction with insurers.” “Today, we have more than 330 people and we look after approximately 13 million policy holders through pension, health, life and other sectors.” There’s no doubt that FinTech (Financial Technologies) is here to stay and if you want to stay at the top of the market, commanding a market leading position, and a sustainable piece of the market, then partnering with the likes of MIP to help deliver your FinTech
solutions is vital. “FinTech like crowdfunding, mobile payments, and money transfer services is revolutionizing the way small businesses start up, accept payments, and go global, and they are making it easier than ever to start and run a business,” explains Forbes big data expert contributor Bernard Marr. “Don’t assume that FinTech is simply a fad or buzzword: Accenture recently released a report which found that investment in FinTech around the world has increased dramatically from $930 million in 2008 to more than $12 billion by early 2015,” he adds. Now is the time to make the move. Customers want it, businesses need it. The FinTech revolution is coming and you better be ready.
WWW.MIP.CO.ZA
www.enterprise-africa.net / 7
CMB Multimedia does not accept responsibility for omissions or errors. The points of view expressed in articles by attributing writers and/ or in advertisements included in this magazine do not necessarily represent those of the publisher. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained within this magazine, no legal responsibility will be accepted by the publishers for loss arising from use of information published. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in a retrievable system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the publisher. © CMB Multimedia Ltd 2018
AFRICA
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR AFRICA’S INDUSTRY LEADERS
Published by CMB Multimedia Chris Bolderstone – General Manager E. chris@cmb-multimedia.com Sackville Place, 44-48 Magdalen Street, Norwich, NR3 1JU T. +44 (0) 20 8123 7859 E. info@cmb-multimedia.com www.cmb-multimedia.com
April 2018
www.enterprise-africa.net
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH OASIS WATER MANAGING DIRECTOR, MYNHARDT OOSTHUIZEN
Taking Finest Quality Purified And Oxygenated Water
Where It Is Needed Most
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
Rolfe Laboratories / Wonga SA / NFB Financial Services / RussellStone Group
AS FEAT UR ED IN
ENTERPRISE AFRICA
APR IL 2018