Prudential Uganda steps up adviser training as life insurance uptake stays low
Insurer says Africa is its fastest-growing MDRT community, with 41 Ugandan advisers qualifying last year
Prudential Uganda says it is investing in training, technology and mentorship to build a more professional adviser force, as its parent company reports rapid growth in the number of its African advisers qualifying for the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT), an international benchmark for life insurance and financial advisers.
In Uganda, 41 Prudential advisers qualified for MDRT in 2025. Across Prudential Africa, 275 advisers qualified in the first half of 2026, following 662 in the whole of 2025. The company says its Nigeria and Ghana operations rank first in their markets and appear on MDRT's 2026 list of the top 100 companies worldwide. Uganda is not among those named.
Low uptake of life insurance
Prudential Uganda Chief Executive Tetteh Ayitevie said life insurance has "significant room to grow" in the country and that quality advice is central to changing that. He said the company wants advisers to be trusted professionals who understand the realities facing Ugandan families, including paying for children's education, protecting household income and saving for the future.
The company points to a wider gap across the continent. Outside South Africa, life insurance penetration in Africa stands at 0.31 percent, with spending of just US$5 per person per year, according to Prudential.
Growing adviser network
Prudential Africa now has 12,000 advisers across Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Ghana and Nigeria, up 71 percent in five years. It serves 2.6 million customers, up from 1.7 million in 2021.
Prudential Africa Chief Executive Emmanuel Mokobi Aryee said Africa is the group's fastest-growing MDRT community globally. He said growing the agency force expands access to quality advice and helps raise professional standards in the industry.
The company says each adviser follows a pathway that combines product and sales training, needs-based advisory coaching, mentorship from experienced leaders and digital tools. Advisers in Uganda and other markets also get access to global learning and peer networking through Prudential plc's three-year premier sponsorship of MDRT, launched in 2025.
Group results
Prudential plc, which the company says runs the world's second-largest MDRT agency force, reported an 8 percent rise in new business profit to US$1,384 million in the six months to June 2026. Margins rose two percentage points to 40 percent. Agents generated 53 percent of new business profit, and profit per active agent rose 9 percent from a year earlier.
In Africa, annual premium equivalent sales grew at a double-digit rate over the same period, and the business holds top-three positions in several key markets, the company said.
