How to position insurance for $1tn economy – Ex-AXA Mansard Director

Rashidat Adebisi, financial systems strategist and former Executive Director at AXA Mansard, has launched The Re-Architecture Project, a strategic initiative aimed at transforming Nigeria’s insurance sector into a key driver of the country’s $1 trillion economic ambition. Speaking in Lagos, Adebisi emphasised that insurance must go beyond being a simple financial product. “Insurance is the […]

Rashidat Adebisi, financial systems strategist and former Executive Director at AXA Mansard, has launched The Re-Architecture Project, a strategic initiative aimed at transforming Nigeria’s insurance sector into a key driver of the country’s $1 trillion economic ambition.

Speaking in Lagos, Adebisi emphasised that insurance must go beyond being a simple financial product.

“Insurance is the net that allows a nation to jump higher,” she said. “Without closing the protection gap, our macroeconomic aspirations remain vulnerable.”

Despite decades of growth, insurance coverage in Nigeria remains extremely low, with penetration in many markets below one percent.

Adebisi said incremental reforms alone cannot deliver the transformation the country needs. She highlighted gaps in what she calls “invisible infrastructure,” pointing to weak trust, limited access, unclear regulations, and inadequate digital identity systems.

“Every decimal point in a financial model represents businesses stabilized and futures secured,” she added.

A key goal of the Re-Architecture Project is integrating Nigeria’s informal economy, which accounts for more than 60 percent of Africa’s workforce.

Legacy insurance models have largely served formally employed workers and large corporations, leaving traders, micro-entrepreneurs, and gig workers largely unprotected.

 

To bridge this gap, Adebisi unveiled the FileAm App, a digital platform that simplifies compliance and converts regulatory and tax records into verifiable financial history, helping users access insurance, credit, and other financial services.

 

“The broader goal is to turn economic visibility into access to capital and sustainable wealth creation,” she said.

 

Adebisi urged industry players to see the Nigeria Insurance Industry Reform Act not as a burden but as a strategic opportunity. “Those who see compliance as a burden will struggle. Those who see it as a competitive advantage will thrive,” she said, noting that policy fluency will define effective leadership in the next decade. She also highlighted innovations in digital insurance solutions, micro-duration coverage, parametric products, and AI-driven fraud detection, stressing that interoperability across institutions is critical to building trust while preserving competition.

 

The strategist said Nigeria is not lacking capital but needs strong and inclusive infrastructure to deploy it effectively. Trust, access, and regulatory clarity, she argued, are the invisible foundations that allow the economy to stabilize businesses, protect families, and create long-term growth. According to her, macroeconomic resilience depends on embedding these systems while integrating the informal sector into formal financial networks.

 

Drawing from her 21-year career, which includes roles as CFO, Chief Distribution Officer, and Chief Client Officer at AXA Mansard, Adebisi said insurance must ultimately safeguard livelihoods, preserve education pathways, and secure families when breadwinners are lost. Her blueprint is guided by three principles: data-aware, policy-conscious, and Africa-focused.