South African insurance giant Sanlam Emerging Markets (SEM), simply known as Sanlam, has acquired 51 percent of Mozambique life insurance company Nico Vida.

Sanlam confirmed the acquisition of Nico Vida Mozambique via a statement this week, adding that it also holds “25.1 percent stake in the insurer’s parent company, Nico Holdings Limited”.

Last year, it acquired a 40 percent stake in Ghanaian short-term business insurance company Enterprise Insurance for $20 million. SEM is headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa, and is the subsidiary of Sanlam Group which has business interests in most of parts Africa, Europe, India, the USA, Australia and South East Asia.

In recent years, this Group has grown a diversified financial services business through four companies – SEM, Sanlam Personal Finance, Sanlam Investments and Santam. It conducts its business through a corporate head office and four business clusters. The corporate head office is responsible for the group’s centralised functions such as strategic direction, financial and risk management, marketing and communications, group human resources and corporate social investment (CSI).

Sanlam group also provides investment and risk management products to individual and institutional clients in South Africa, the UK, Europe, the United States and Australia.

By George Mpofu