WOMAN OF PASSION: I give SMEs an insurance policy that serves their needs

Wanjiru Githiomi, 45, set up Bimanet to help small businesses access affordable insurance.
She was a leading attorney in a leading South African law firm, before setting up a sponsorship business which reaped big during the 2010 world cup.
But she still wanted more. In 2017, she set up Bimanet insurance aggregator company in Kenya to give the country's SMEs affordable covers.
Still, it came at a price as she has had to juggle between the business here in Kenya and the family back in South Africa. She reveals what it really takes.
"My career began as an attorney at a leading South African law firm, where I worked for 18 months before I ventured into marketing and entertainment. I worked for a while before I decided to start my own business in the same area of expertise.
I had got into South Africa, where I am now a resident, by enrolling in the University of Cape Town, where I had pursued a bachelor of Jurisprudence (with Law, psychology and politics majors).
I started trifling with the idea of shifting careers when my supervisor assigned me a client who was the leading sponsorship marketing agency in Southern Africa.
I enjoyed working on events, signing up athletes, media rights, legal proofing, and drafting sponsorship proposals.
It was an exciting time of my career as I got to attend mega festivals, travelled extensively to international sporting events, and interacted with interesting people across the globe.
However, I had to resign because we had young children, and my husband who at the time was a junior civil engineer also travelled regularly.
I took a leap of faith and founded Leverage Inc, a sponsorship marketing agency that I ran from home for about three years.
Despite a shaky beginning, the practice grew steadily; we moved into proper premises and established notable partnerships.
CHALLENGES
Our biggest growth was the years preceding the 2010 world cup held in South Africa. The sponsorship marketing industry exploded for six years.
My transition from legal to marketing was quite complicated. One, I did not have an emergency fund or a salary to cushion me as I tried to navigate this new minefield; the mistakes I made along the way cost me dearly.
Two, I was based in a foreign country and venturing into a career that was dominated by white males, who had deep historical networks with all the major clients.
The third reason was that our twin daughters were born several weeks premature and I could not trust a third party to care for them.
Apart from that, the clients I was targeting could not trust a startup that had no known business address because unlike this digital era, working from home was not a thing.
Moreover, every client insisted on escorting me to my car, which was a miserable ramshackle and I did not look like the money I was claiming for the assignments I was targeting.
To top it up, it was very difficult to balance a demanding career and being a hands-on mother. I had to spread myself very thin and work late into the night after tucking them in.
Sometimes it was so hectic, I used to fly to Johannesburg twice a week, departing on the 5am flight and returning on the last flight back to Cape Town.
The twins are now 17 years old, young independent women with a good head on their shoulders and focused on their academics.
FINDING CLIENTS
I sold the sponsorship business in 2017 because I needed to raise some capital and also pay more attention to Bimanet, my insurance business in Kenya.
As Bimanet, we work with a network of over 60 insurance distributors who resell our flagship product, especially to SMEs.
We are talking to other platforms like churches, educational institutions, Saccos, chamas, and banking partners, which fit our target audience.
Like any other business, we have our teething problems. Finding good insurance salespeople is a major challenge because the industry doesn't seem able to retain good talent.
Kenyans, in general, do not appreciate the importance of life insurance as a risk management solution because most of us rely on harambees to raise money when calamity strikes.
On a personal front, I have to balance between my principal residence in Cape Town and running a business in Kenya. My travel regimen can be quite brutal, and I do miss my family.
On the upside, we are witnessing a steady increase in employers purchasing life covers because there is finally an affordable solution for SMEs.
Covid-19 has affected our business too. We are using this time to strategise on how we can seize the opportunities that this crisis has presented.”




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