Destin Africa 28 Main Story
Darshan Ruparelia Talks about the Actuarial Profession and How RCL is Participating in This Space The Actuarial Society of Kenya (TASK) is celebrating 25 years since establishment. Over the years, the Society has been at the forefront promoting the advancement of actuarial profession in the East African region. Destin Africa had a chat with Darshan Ruparelia, director at the Ruparelia Consultants Limited (RCL), about the profession, what should be done to promote its growth, and how RCL is participating in this space. Can you comment about TASK silver jubilee celebration? elebrating 25 years is a great achievement not only for the Actuarial Society of Kenya, but also for the wider actuarial profession in Kenya and the East African region. Special thanks go to the founders, the management team and various stakeholders for their relentless determination, unmatched consistency and resolute vision which is anchored on positioning the actuarial profession in Kenya and the region as the leading profession in the areas of modeling and management of financial risks and contingent events.
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Darshan Ruparelia, managing director, Ruparelia Consultants Limited (RCL).
What do you think should be done to promote the growth of the profession in Kenya? To promote the growth of the actuarial profession in Kenya, more institutions should be given the accreditation to offer the actuarial programmeas well as to get accredited with the International Actuarial Association and/or other international bodies such as the Institute & Faculty of Actuaries (UK). The Actuarial Society of Kenya should liaise with the Ministry of Education on how they conduct seminars and career talks in schools to improve understanding and appreciation of the profession. The Actuarial Society of Kenya should consider working with the government to provide loans or subsidies
to enable individuals willing to become qualified actuaries pay for the high examination fees. Plans should also be put in place to increase the rate of absorption of actuarial graduates to the job market in the traditional fields,e.g. insurance companies, and other consulting firms.
Any challenges facing the actuarial profession in Kenya and industry issues? One of the challenges facing the actuarial profession is a lack of understanding of the profession and hence a lack of appreciation by industry on the whole set of services that actuaries can offer and how it can add value to their corporate decision-making.
