MEET RONALD

Ronald Samuels, a proud South African and natural leader, has transitioned seamlessly from a distinguished corporate career to becoming a dynamic business owner. With over 30 years of experience in distribution leadership within the financial services sector across Southern Africa, Ronald has now fully embraced his role as the head of RS Consulting, while also steering the growth of his holding company, SA Karoo Industries (Pty) Ltd.

 

Having concluded his tenure as CEO of Botswana Life Insurance Ltd. in 2023, Ronald is now deeply invested in building RS Consulting, where he leverages his extensive expertise to provide custom-made, holistic Distribution solutions for financial services clients in Africa. His firm specializes in distribution design and optimisation, distribution leadership development, omni-channel distribution design, and providing clients distribution businesses with bespoke automation and IT solutions tailored to the unique in-country needs.

 

Under his leadership, SA Karoo Industries has grown into a diverse enterprise, encompassing four distinct businesses. RS Consulting leads the portfolio, offering cutting-edge consulting services across group insurance, retail, corporate, bancassurance, and fiduciary business lines, with a particular focus on distribution of financial services products on the African Continent . The second venture, Rolling Hills Farmstead, located in the Overberg region, focusses on agri-tourism and offers guest accommodation on a working farm, in the picturesque Hemel & Aarde Valley about 90 minutes drive from Cape Town.

 

Ronald’s portfolio further includes Body20 studios in Paarl and Hermanus, which bring the future of fitness to life with Electro Muscular Stimulation (EMS) technology. These studios offer a revolutionary workout experience, delivering the equivalent of four hours of conventional gym training in just 20 minutes.

 

Beyond his business endeavors, Ronald is also a published author, having penned his memoir, The Bitter Olive, a compelling narrative of resilience and choice. His story underscores the power of the human spirit to overcome adversity and thrive.

 

Ronald's accolades include the CEO Leadership Excellence ward in 2023 and being named the Life Insurance CEO of the Year in Botswana in 2022, reflecting his exceptional leadership and vision in the industry.

Ronald Samuels continues to be a driving force in the financial services industry, now channeling his passion and expertise into empowering businesses across Africa and beyond.

“Africa’s insurance market is poised for rapid expansion with the second fastest growth

in the world after Latin America. It is growing nearly twice as fast as North America and over three times faster than Europe. With 7% year-on-year growth, the region even outpaces Asia.”  

- CEO, Africa Speciality Risks

OUR EXPERTISE

RS Consulting and its associates have a combined 90 years of experience in financial services primarily gained in South Africa and Africa. We believe in the value of insurance and the significant impact it can have on the lives and livelihoods of its customers. With an insurance penetration outside of South Africa of less than 3%, we believe there are significant opportunities for the Insurance carriers that successfully crack the distribution code in the territories they operate in. At RS Consulting we are passionate about distribution as we see it as one of the key enablers to creating financial inclusion on the African Continent and vital for the sustainability and future growth of Insurers operating in the region. Our consultancy was formed to consult to Insurers, Banks and Retail companies wanting to distribute their insurance products and services in Africa.  

OUR APPROACH

RS Consulting follows a holistic approach when consulting to our clients on the complexities of the distribution ecosystem. 

We suggest the following phased approach, namely:

The information gathering phase

This is where we get a detailed understanding from the client on the strategic direction of the company pertaining to its Africa strategy and what is expected from its distribution.

The deep dive phase

We interview and hold discussions with the in-country executives and management teams to get a deeper understanding of the strategy alignment, distribution pain points and opportunities.

The findings and recommendation phase

This is when we give feedback to our client on our analysis during the deep dive phase and make possible recommendations to consider.

The implementation phase

RS Consult provides in-country implementation assistance to ensure the successful implementation of the adopted strategies.

OUR SERVICES

ACTUARIAL CONSULTING

We provide actuarial consulting services on various aspects of life insurance product and sales management in Africa, including:

Product Design Elements and Features, relating to: client income levels / savings element designs / risk benefit structuring / post-retirement solutions / health solutions.

Product Profitability Criteria, including target profitability criteria / new business strain analysis / capital payback periods analysis.

Client Value Propositions, including value-for-money & target client benefit assessments.

Capital Requirements, including regulatory capital analysis & return on capital assessments.

Expense Advisory Services, including target unit costs & optimal filesize assessments.

Persistency analysis, including target persistency criteria / duration-based persistency analysis.

Asset Solutions, including asset strategies for savings business / asset strategies for products requiring asset-liability-matching.

AUTOMATION & IT SOLUTIONS

We provide bespoke automation and IT solutions for our clients. Our commitment to innovation and cutting-edge technology enables us to offer tailored solutions that empower insurance companies to thrive in today’s digital age.

InsureMo - The World’s #1 Insurance. Infrastructure Platform enabling large insurance ecosystems.

NSure – cutting-edge microinsurance software platform meticulously crafted for African insurance markets, empowering financial resilience, expanding access to insurance services, and propelling sustainable economic development continent-wide.

SalesNexus – revolutionizes the insurance agent journey, offering a unified platform that streamlines the entire agent life cycle, empowering them for unparalleled sales performance.

DISTRIBUTION SERVICES

RS Consulting provides the following additional Distribution services:

  1. Distribution leadership development and soft skills training.
  2. Omni-channel distribution design and implementation.
  3. Consultation services for group (employee benefits), retail (entry, mass and affluent), corporate, bancassurance and fiduciary business lines.
  4. Consultation services considering the various African territories our clients operate in and working with management teams to design and implement the most efficient distribution models required.
CONTACT

Ready to connect with RS Consulting? We welcome inquiries, partnerships, and conversations. Feel free to reach out to us through the following channels:

Email

contact@rsconsulting.africa

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