Old Mutual Malawi has donated money mounting to K4.5 million towards Institute of Marketing in Malawi (IMM) and (IIM) conferences. Old Mutual has blessed IMM annual conference which is slated to take place from 26th to 29th of October in Salima with K1 million, while the Insurance Institute in Malawi conference which is slated for 27th to 30th October in Mangochi, has received a K3.5 million boost.
Speaking during cheque presentations on Wednesday in Blantyre, Old Mutual Managing Director Roy Punungwe, said the company values a lot the services of these two institutions hence the donation.
Punungwe said Old Mutual as an ‘Employer of Choice’ was delighted to support these two annual conferences because they provide their staff in these professions the opportunity to share knowledge and reflect on new trends in the fields.
He continued to say the firm realizes that the world is constantly changing with new innovations and ways of doing things, therefore knowledge sharing is key as it helps one to stay ahead of times.
“These two conferences are significant to Old Mutual because we have staff that are members of these institutions. It’s very important for us to support these bodies because that is how we can develop our professions in the country.
“They are very beneficial to our business because when our staff attend these conferences, there is knowledge sharing and they can also discuss new innovations which they can bring back to our business,” said Punungwe.
In his reaction to the donation, IMM’s Public Relations Director George Damson who is also the conference chair, described the donation as so timely and says it will help the organizing committee to meet their estimated budget.
“This is a very timely sponsorship from Old Mutual. They have been our partner for quite sometime and they do support IMM in various ways through corporate membership and their coming is a very big shot in the arm. It will assist us in making sure that we meet some of the obligations towards hosting a successful conference,” said Damson.
He further indicated that this year’s theme for the conference is ‘From Surviving to Thriving; Scaling Towards Excellence’ and said the conference will address issues of mental health, leadership and also entrepreneurship.
“We are very grateful to the management of Old Mutual for this donation. K3.5 million is a huge sum of money considering the economic and social challenges that we are all experiencing. Other companies should also emulate this good example,” said Kapesa.
Kapesa also reported that this year’s theme for the conference will be “A glance at insurance in Malawi in the next decade’ and added that experts will tackle issues that are very pertinent to the country as well as the private sector.