Nyala Insurance S.C. is considering operating in foreign markets. During a press conference, the company’s executive team said it was time to explore new markets so that the company can build its capacity and learn from larger companies in the same sector.
“We are looking at the regulatory laws and working with the regulatory body to see how we could expand to new markets and we hope we will be able to do that in the near future,” stated Yared Mola, CEO of Nyala.
During the 23rd Annual General and the 16th Extraordinary Meeting of the shareholders it was stated that NISCO has registered a net profit of birr 122.2 million in the 2016/17 fiscal year, a massive profit margin since the company’s establishment.
According to a report presented at the meeting, the company registered a gross profit of birr 137 million, up from birr 77.4 million in the previous fiscal period.
According to the company, it was able to secure a high amount of gross profit margin due to appropriate risk management techniques that have been put in place to attract more customers.
The company’s assets have reached birr 1.22 billion, an increase by 28.4 over the previous year and the company’s paid up capital rose to birr 359 in the 2016/17 fiscal year. The differentiated and value adding services extended to the customer are among some of the reasons for the boost in profitability.
Speaking about challenges, it was stated that a shortage of skilled manpower as well as lack of dynamism are some of the major constraints.
“We have been crawling too long and fighting tooth and nail on the domestic market frontier while our East African counterparts have outrun us by a long mile. We need to reboot our business philosophy and rethink beyond short term plans which are heavily seen in the Ethiopian financial industry,” said Yared.
Chairman of the Board Kemal Mohammed underlined that, while the performance of the company is really good compared to the local market, it is still very small and has a long way to go. He further stated that the regulatory body should stay ahead of the sector by putting forward new regulations that pave the way for insurance companies to become more capable and fast moving in front of international markets.

Discussions on how media can bring forth cases of abuse and violence against women and girls and increase the rate of conviction of perpetuators were held at a meeting organized by UN Women and the Australian Embassy. The event brought together journalists, editors, activists and those who work in the area of protection of women and girls.
“Every girl and woman has the right to live a life free of violence and discrimination. However, and unfortunately one in every three women has experienced physical or sexual violence at some point in their lifetime. Violence does not only have negative consequences on survivors, it also has negative consequences on their families, communities, on society and nations,” stated Letty Chiwara, UN Women Representative to Ethiopia, AU and ECA.
Chiwara cited a study by UN Women and the Economic Commission for Africa, which said that violence against women and girls, especially domestic violence costs countries like Ethiopia three percent of their GDP.
“Another recent study done by the World Bank also revealed that Nigeria, looses 90 million USD per year because of violence against women and girls. If we can address this issue in Ethiopia, we will not just be addressing the consequences of women and girls, but also will improve the economic status of the country,” Chiwara said.
One speaker said violence against women does not have boundaries, it transcends generations, nationalities and spheres of society. It is also irrespective of age; recent trends show older women, grandmothers, being sexually assaulted by younger men.
The theme of this year’s ‘16 Days of Activism’, an annual campaign that advocates stopping violence, is: ‘leaving no one behind’ and ‘ending violence against women and girls’.
“As UN Women we believe that the media can play a critical role in bringing the voices of those women who haven’t been able to speak. There are many times that violence against women goes unreported for various reasons. It goes unreported because sometimes it happens within a situation where you are in a work environment and it is perpetuated on you by your boss and you are threatened that if you say anything, you lose your job,”
“I can tell you myself, I am part of the ‘me too’ campaign, I have suffered in that way, I have been violated at work, at home but it hasn’t stopped me from moving on and surviving. I wish when it happened to me, it happened to me at a time where there was a media dialogue like this with media representatives; because maybe I could have come to you and told you my story, and maybe you could have shared my story. I kept quiet because I wanted to save my family, I wanted to save my job and I wanted to save my humility,” Chiwara said.
In Ethiopia, one in three women have experienced domestic violence. Two out of every three women and one out of every two men believe that wife beating is justified under some circumstances.
One out of every two girls aged 15 to 19 have undergone female genital mutilation. One out of every four women experience their first sexual experiences under coercion. In the country, there are only an estimated 12 shelters for female survivors of violence throughout the country.
Adding to the problem, poor data collection and under-reporting continues to be a challenge, there is also a weak enforcement of laws and policies that protect women’s rights.