eBusiness Weekly
This week Tuesday was probably the last day short-term insurance giant, NicozDiamond (Nicoz), held its analysts’ briefing as a standalone listed entity.
By the time we get to the release of the June half-year results, the group’s performance would be presented, as part of First Mutual Holdings Limited (FMHL), the new owners of Nicoz.
FMHL acquired 80,92 percent NDI shares while the process of acquiring the remaining 19,08 percent is in progress. Nicoz will soon be merged with FMHL’s Tristar, a move that might mark the end of a name that has been with us since 2002.
One can thus not fault Nicoz chief executive, Grace Muradzikwa, for being nostalgic when, for what might be her last time to stand before analysts, she stood before them, much wiser and “with a one hour makeup”, to deliver, along with her team, the group’s results for the year ended December 31, 2017.
With emotions visible in her face and audible in her voice, Muradzikwa took those in attendance down memory lane, from when it all started back in January 2002, when insurance companies, Nicoz and Diamond merged to form NicozDiamond (NDI).
The company was to eventually list on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, starting her journey to stand in front of analysts, “without any makeup” as is the case now.
Then, she never appreciated the role of analysts and the media, who, without any experience of running companies, questioned her company’s activities.
Said Muradzikwa: “I used to have butterflies just thinking about analysts’ briefings. I remember some of the questions coming from the young people from the analysts’ fraternity.”
“I would go back to the office saying you know these young people, have they ever run a company. It’s easy to sit there and critic performance when you have never actually been right at the helm of a company, having sleepless nights about what you are going to do about costs, making important decisions in a hyperinflation era.”
But it’s a journey she is now happy to have walked with analysts and the media, whose questions and criticism, she says, helped her team think outside the box.
“Regional expansion strategies have been an experience that provided her with opportunities to learn and share from other markets.”
This to Muradzikwa was an awesome experience which also afforded her a chance to learn Portuguese, a lesson she was to later use when they opened shop in Mozambique.
Calling some milestones throughout the journey as “exciting periods” and the venture into Mozambique as “our baby”, Grace took time to highlight other achievements such as getting an A+ rating for its claims paying ability and also attaining ISO certification.
She also boasted of how her company was the first to come to the market with a rights issue, post dollarisation, with the 67 percent subscription rate setting the limit for other companies who followed with their own rights offers.
But all this has come to an end
One missing future, that we had become accustomed to over the years, at all Nicoz results briefings, is the presence of parent company executives as well as those from its sister companies.
From Zimre Holdings’ former chief executive officer Albert Nduna, to the late Fidelity Life chief executive officer Simon Chapereka, you would find them all at NicozDiamond’s results briefings. Working as a team, or as a family, it seems, is something that Muradzikwa values, as she highlighted that her team has not changed much since the start. It’s a culture that she might have wanted to carry with her in the FMHL family, but unfortunately it’s a luxury that she might not have.
On Tuesday, the whole FMHL team was there in support, from Group chief executive Douglas Hoto to First Mutual Property chief executive Christopher Manyowa.
Sadly as much as Muradzikwa might have wanted to continue with the brand and culture that she built, the FMHL brand is the one that she might have to carry as the group consolidates. Pearl Properties has already changed its name to First Mutual Property.
If it’s any consolation Muradzikwa goes into the new family not as a poor kid adopted from next door, but as a rich one, with NicozDiamond having reported growth in both premiums and profits for the year to December 2017.
The first two months for FY2018 are also looking good with GPW already up 20 percent on prior year at $8,832 million from $7,333 million prior year comparative.
