The State of the Actuarial Profession in Africa
The Actuarial Profession in Africa is largely at an infancy state across the continent. South Africa has the largest number of actuaries with c.2,000 credentialed actuaries – this is significantly more than present in all other African countries combined. This compares with Europe which has c. 27,000, the US which has c. 35,000 and Canada with c.6,000.
The biggest sector for actuaries is the financial sector of which the insurance industry is the largest employer. In 2022, the African Insurance industry contributed only c.1% of the global insurance industry’s turnover.
Africa’s financial industry is recognising the need for actuarial talent as they play a crucial role in assessing risk, and driving necessary analytical work which stimulates overall growth and financial soundness of the industry. Actuaries are uniquely positioned to support the growth of Africa’s financial sector due to their expertise in identifying and mitigating risks relevant to financial services. Actuarial expertise may also be used to enhance financial inclusion and literacy; Actuaries can contribute to the development of inclusive financial systems that address the unique needs of diverse communities across Africa. Notable challenges remain however, as there are very few experienced and qualified actuaries on the continent.
There is a distinct lack of growth of the profession outside South Africa. The challenges of growing the profession are exacerbated by the fact that the actuarial skill-set requires significant investment in time, exam support and on-the-job training in order to adequately develop a candidate to an experienced and qualified level. Many companies in Africa are yet to understand the amount of resources they need to invest to develop their actuarial talent, or don’t yet have the capacity to provide these resources. The qualified and experienced actuaries on the ground are too few to provide the needed training and mentorship to potential candidates without a coordinated effort or additional resources to help. In addition, due to the rigour and difficulty of the exams, the actuarial pathway to be qualified may take many years, often in the region of 5-10 or more years. It is rare to find a qualified actuary that passed all their exams on their first try, even in more developed economies.