Newsletter
AUGUST 2020
Welcome to the next quarter century To The Prosperity Tribe It is with great pleasure that we present you with our first internal newsletter which gives you an insight into where we come from, where we are going, what we have been doing to take us forward and how you’ve made it all possible. To be in business for 25 years or more is by no means a small feat and some quick research has shown us that some of the most well-known companies worldwide (and of course here in Namibia) have been founded approximately 25 years ago. This includes Amazon (need we say more), E-bay - the world’s leading online marketplace founded in 1995 while 1997 saw the birth of Netflix. Closer to home we look at MTC and the Namibian Ports Authority – founded 1994 while the Windhoek Country Club Resort and Casino has been up and running since 1995.
Prosperity shares a number of commonalities with the above mentioned companies, including growth, profitability, diversification of business interests, contribution to economic growth and their country’s GDP and most importantly job creation for the people in the countries they operate in an – for some – even beyond those borders. Remaining a profitable business is not possible without the hard work, dedication and commitment of all the stakeholders and shareholders that work tirelessly to remain operational. You, our Tribe are the most important of our stakeholders and we thank you wholeheartedly for your contribution and support over the years. Without you none of the achievements would have
been possible and we are grateful to you for sticking with us through thick and thin. Many of you have been part of the tribe for 25 years, many for 10 years and more and to us – this is true commitment and dedication. We look forward to spending the next quarter century with you. Together we will move forward and take the Prosperity Group to new heights. Your sincerely Bertus Struwig, Group CEO Prosperity Africa Holdings Kobus Struwig, CEO
The road travelled The story of the Prosperity “Tribe” | 1994 – 2020 I could never have imagined how complicated it would be to take an existing brand and modernise it into something that needs to take an organisation into the future. Only now I understand why organisations such as Namibia’s own liberation ruling party would never change its name or logo, as the psychological connection amongst rank and file is so strong, that trying to change it without losing something in exchange is nearly impossible. Prosperity also had its own kind of liberation journey, as it had to be more of a movement than just an organisation to grow from the trenches with little resources - to become the corporate it is today. In the same sense as Namibia’s own liberation ruling party, from who we as Namibians can learn a lot, Prosperity has in a lesser way also built on personal sacrifices over 25 years. Therefore, Prosperity is more of a MOVEMENT than just a company. The new Prosperity logo video clip successfully captures the essence of the movement of the Prosperity Tribe, recognizing its human past; a tough and rewarding Namibian journey, and the symbolic shield in preparing us for the road ahead in protecting our future, our health and well-being of each other and our members - who are the core purpose of our existence. Each one of us will hold on to our own precious memories and special moments in time on this Prosperity journey, which we will carry with us and hand over as future generations take over from us.
Bertus Struwig, Group CEO Prosperity Africa Holdings
My Prosperity moment started in 1988, fresh from university, when I got the job to start up the Namibian office for a South African-based administration company. With Namibia’s indepen-
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dence clock ticking down to 1990, South African companies were scrambling to establish companies and service infrastructures in our country, with the objective of moving Namibian schemes administered in South Africa to Namibia. The move of the NASMED and O&L Medical schemes to Namibia was where I got my introduction to the science of medical schemes. In those years, NASMED comprised of SWAUK, ENOK, SWAWEK, and all the old South West Africa state-owned entities. In 1994, I decided to leave the South African-owned company and with a salary and pension payout of less than N$25,000, we began what is today known as Prosperity. We opened our 1st office in the Carl List Building with 3 staff members, and Kobus Struwig moved to the coast to start up our marketing movement in Walvis Bay. In the 1st year of business we had to survive on minimum wages, and it is only when Pescanova in Luderitz and the Pelagic fishermen in Walvis Bay decided to join (what is today known as Prosperity Goodwill Society – a section 21 company, which was the original vehicle of the Renaissance Medical Aid scheme), that the Prosperity movement started to build momentum. It was in those early setup days that Rika van der Post (today our CIO) joined from PWC as a junior auditor to do our accounts. She installed our 1st computer to set up our operations on a DOS excel style system, to move away from a typewriter to computer printed statements. Previously, we were still doing our claims on a manual log card system as all our members could fit into a wooden card box! Marius Kruger joined soon thereafter from PWC as a junior auditor to put our financial and accounting processes in place (today, Marius is our Group FD)
As our membership started growing with double digits, and our wooden card claim record boxes became an administrative challenge, we were desperately in need of a member medical management system, and in 1996 we made a deal with a leading SA owned company on a shares in exchange for a system basis. We did our 1st name change in 1996, to NMA Healthcare Namibia, with NMA SA as a 50% shareholder, as we had agreed to give them 50% shares-in-exchange-for-system. When NMA SA was bought by Fedsure Health, Fedsure took over the 50% shareholding in 1997. This was our big breakthrough because we could compete as Fedhealth in Namibia, which was, in those days, a strong household brand in SA. Our further great break came when we got the appointment to start NAPOTEL in October 1998, when PATMED (Namibia Post) and Telemed (Telecom Namibia) decided to merge their medical aid schemes, and we won the appointment as administrator. Our hard work was further rewarded when we got the Namdeb appointment to start the Namdeb Medical Aid Scheme on 1 January 1999, after nearly 2 years of negotiations between the Namdeb steering committee and De Beers Medical Scheme in SA to reach an agreement to move Namibian employees to a Namibian scheme. It was in this same period that we won the administration of the Transcormed Medical Aid Scheme administration, existing of Transnamib and Air Namibia, who still today count amongst our blue chip corporate clients under the Renaissance Health Medical Aid Scheme. In 1998, Prosperity, with our empowerment partners, established Namhealth Administrators and became the 1st administration company in Namibia to be awarded the administration of PSEMAS (The Public Service Employees Medical Aid Scheme) The late nineties were our Golden Years
and we are still honoured today to be the administrators of both NAPOTEL and NAMDEB medical schemes after all these years. In 2001, Fedsure South Africa financially collapsed, and we jumped at the opportunity to buy back our 50% shareholding in November 2001, and changed the name of the company to Prosperity. On 1 October 2002, we changed the name of the Prosperity Health Medical Aid Scheme to Renaissance Health Medical Aid Scheme, and it is still our honour to administer one of the leading commercial medical aid schemes in Namibia. I give recognition of its success to the Chairman and Board of Trustees of RMA, who created a solid governance environment whilst maintaining a structured partnership relationship with Prosperity to make RMA the success it is today. Our 25 years have been made meaningful by the people of the Prosperity “movement”, with most of our founding members still in key positions, and I can give recognition to the people who shared this journey with us and all those who have made it possible to come this far. Although we had several failures during our journey, the Prosperity movement was resilient enough to stand the test of time, to grow in strength and in many instances still sets the pace as a strong Namibian innovator and leader, a committed economical driver, a loyal service provider to our clients and a fierce competitor after all these years. With the establishment of Prosperity Life in 2002 and EMED Rescue 24 in 2003, Prosperity evolved into a broadbased specialised financial and paramedical service provider. The reason for this short memory trip is to highlight some moments, amongst many, that have made our Prosperity movement so special. Memories have a tendency to quickly vanish as the company embraces constant progress and change as we enter a new era, with a new generation of leadership.
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The Prosperity financial foundation we build over time with the initial investment, which today represents more than N$1 billion in funds and assets under management, is a testimony of our acumen and achievements. Our history will always be the cement that keeps the bricks of the Prosperity movement together, even as we enter the new normal, which will, over the next 2 to 3 years, become our real test as we transform ourselves to stand the test of time. As we move forward and hand over to a new generation of leaders, we will find that in a modern world, less time is spent on the history than on the future, as that has become the crux of survival in the modern world. However, we should never lose sight of the importance of our history, as that will always be the ingredient of success of any movement and will see us through the challenges ahead. When we lose the importance of history, that’s when a movement is at risk of losing its purpose to its people and the reason for its existence. It is with this in mind that I realised my personal attachment to the “old” Prosperity logo, which had its origins in 2000 and to the history of our great movement, which could get lost in the corridors of time, that I need to give recognition to the Prosperity tribe (colleagues and clients), who made this journey meaningful and a once-in-a-lifetime experience. As a founding member of the initial Prosperity movement, which is reaching the end of a 25 year era, and in acknowledging that we today have the strongest leadership in place since starting this movement, it has become more important than ever that we record the story of the Prosperity movement so that it does not get lost in the corridors of the future, and that the commitment of the “founding members” tell the tale of ordinary Namibians who became a great tribe – the Prosperity Tribe.
We have evolved Over the past 25 years Prosperity has evolved from the first Namibian-owned medical aid fund and medical aid administrator with one member into a group of companies that excels in the medical aid and medical insurance sector in Namibia.
alone, as the company progressed from a young, liberal and adolescent company to a brand that has become matured after 25 years.
Established in 1994, this group today has diversified and branched into different sectors, including emergency evacuation, short term insurance, tourism, property and information technology. For the first 25 years of the existence of Prosperity, the logo underwent various subtle transformations starting off in a turquoise oval with the face in between the wording ‘’Prosperity Health’,’ which later evolved to a face that stood
Prosperity has built a recognisable brand name that holds an emotional value in the market which is reliable, trustworthy and has stood its ground throughout all the ups and downs that the company and economy have faced over the years,
thereby taking up the undeniable brand persona of Protection in hard times and Prosperity in Good times. This is why after 25 years, we believe that the Prosperity Group has earned the right as a protector, safeguarding the “face logo’’, which symbolizes humanity by adding the Shield to the face. This signifies that Prosperity is Protecting the Well-being of our members and the medical aid funds that we administer. It is my distinguished pleasure to introduce to you the new, evolved Prosperity brand position and brand persona. Kobus Struwig CEO - Chief Executive Officer
What does our brand stand for? The Prosperity brand is bold, simplistic and relevant to all stakeholders. The Prosperity brand is an established brand in Namibia, representing a consistent and strong presence in the Namibian corporate environment. The Face shows the most important asset to our existence, which are the people, members, service providers and staff.
Prosperity Group is there for your protection, whatever your health and financial needs may be. The new logo stands out more prominently. It is more visible and striking. It symbolises strength and protection - a logo that inspires pride and admiration in those who have been a part of the company’s journey for the past 25 years.
At Prosperity, we value all people as a family on purpose under one Namibian Nation. The shield represents protection; our services are tailored to protect our members against the challenges that life will bring. We offer innovative products to ensure our members enjoy economical as well as emotional and physical well-being. Our Promise: Irrespective if you are an individual, family or part of a larger employer group, we have innovative medical offerings tailor-made to enhance well-being, whether Physical, Economical, Spiritual, Intellectual, Emotional or Social.
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Prosperity Health: The Prosperity Health voice and tone represents a services brand that is corporate, professional, and assured as a well-established and experienced administrator. Prosperity Health is an accredited financial services company focusing on client service, administration and management of funds and assets of various medical aid funds within the Prosperity portfolio. Prosperity Life: The Prosperity Life voice is welcoming, because Prosperity Life products are developed as specialised niche market products targeting specific members’ needs, and that are not otherwise readily available in the healthcare industry. Prosperity Life serves a niche market insurer and the ability to adapt, overcome and change to suit the member’s expectations, needs and shortcomings in the industry on product specific communication.
Our people @ the 2020 launch On 23 June 2020, all Prosperity staff in the Windhoek office were asked to gather in the boardroom at 9am, and those who were working remotely or who were at other branches country-wide, were sent a link to join the launch via Zoom call. Everyone gathered in the boardroom or joined on their video calls, and they noticed that new banners were decorating the room, and that there was a countdown projected on the big screen. The event then commenced with a speech, highlighting the reason for Prosperity’s rebrand, and emphasising the mission and ethos that Prosperity aims to implement along with its evolved logo and brand. This was followed by a few words by the company MD, Tiaan Serfontein.
Eventually, the anticipation had built up and the countdown reached zero, and the Prosperity Protecting Well-Being advert was premiered for everyone to view and enjoy for the first time, cementing and visualising the new brand that had been presented. After a few closing remarks, the staff were all given a small gift, adorned with the new logo, as a token of unity and appreciation. Each staff member also received a Code of Conduct, which would be signed and displayed at their workstations, to constantly affirm the Prosperity Tribe’s commitment to their purpose and their dedication to being an ambassador for the company.
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It was a short, humble, yet impactful occasion to introduce and share Prosperity’s new and improved vision, with which we will take on many challenges in the coming years.