As part of efforts to address the problem of skills gap in the Nigerian insurance and pension industry, Novare Actuaries Limited says it would be commencing operations in the country with seven actuaries and 14 actuarial specialists.

Speaking during the unveiling of Novare logo in Lagos, the company's chairman, Orlando Ojo, lamented that "In the whole of Nigeria, we have only two qualified actuaries to service the whole of the insurance and pensions sub-sectors, to say nothing about other areas that can benefit from actuarial input."

The coming of Novare, according to him, is a very exciting development in the nation's financial services arena, especially now that the economy is witnessing growth and the populace are looking towards a future filled with promise and potential.

In the financial sector, strong growth and rapid development are expected, he said, adding that "This is a time in the market when we require a good supply of technical support and expertise to underpin this development. If we are hampered by insufficient skills, then this severely restricts the potential for advancement."

As Leadway Assurance Company Limited posted gross premium income of more than N15 billion in 2007 up from N4.9 billion in 2006, just as the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria unveiled a plan to address the skills gap in the insurance industry by recruiting 5,000 graduates to support the industry, he pointed out that these are indications that better days are ahead.

With the passing of the Pension Reform Act 2004, a contributory pension scheme was established for all employees in the public and private sectors. The National Pension Commission (PenCom) reported the pension funds already realised was about N820 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2008 up from N120 billion only four years ago after the scheme took off. The fund is projected to reach N1.6 trillion within the next three years.

"To enable these industries to provide security to their policyholders and pension fund members they need to ensure that their business practices and products take account of the future potential risks. This is what actuaries specialise in and having sufficient actuarial skills available will provide a solid base for growth in these industries for many years to come," he said.

Novare will be providing a whole gamut of actuarial services, locally in the country. Novare Actuaries are a group of actuaries, who have been involved in a number of international projects, and they have proven skills, which they want to place at the disposal of the Nigerian market. They are also very keen to establish a base Nigeria and to become part of the Nigerian economy.

Novare Actuaries is incorporated as a Nigerian company with offices in Lagos. He stressed that "Through Novare Actuaries we want to provide a high quality actuarial service to the insurance industry, to pension funds and to the wider financial services sector any company or pension fund that can benefit from the unique skills that actuaries have."

While pointing out that Novare is a joint venture between Nigeria and South Africa, he said in addition to the skills that the firm is bringing to the market; he added that African cooperation is being achieved.

On the one hand, Nigeria has a large and strong market as there are many people with lots of energy and potential, but hampered in a sense by a lack of certain skills, on the other hand, the more developed South African market has the skills and experience to offer.

He maintained that the combination of these two can be a powerful force working in the country's favour to achieve the growth and development which we are seeking.

Through its participation in the market, he stated that the company wants to see that many more Nigerians take up the challenge to become actuaries and for Novare's skills to be transferred to people in our local economy.