As one of the most recognisable brands on the African continent, Old Mutual has, over 175 years, built significant equity and brand loyalty among its key audiences by being able to substantiate its purpose of championing mutually positive futures. From products that meet specific needs and personalised, life-long interactions that add value, to community interventions that deliver real impact, the group has, in many ways, worked to consistently deliver profit with a purpose.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has served as both a major business challenge to respond to for the group, and a significant opportunity to demonstrate the possibilities of mobilising its human, financial and strategic resources to become part of the solution to a complex socio-economic challenge.

A shared-value approach has been infused into the group’s overarching response to COVID-19, with the integration of social, economic and business objectives into the various activities introduced during the period.

Led by the group executive, Old Mutual Foundation, the provincial management boards and businesses across the group, Old Mutual has joined forces with partners in the public, private and civil-society sectors to extend a lifeline to those in need. Core activities include:

• R4 billion worth of premium-free cover to around 430 000 qualifying healthcare workers in SA
• R5 million to support government’s efforts to secure personal protective equipment for essential service workers
• More than R50 million pledged towards community relief efforts in partnership with key stakeholders
• Close to R400 million in relief to Old Mutual Insure customers in the form of interest-free loans and extended payment terms during this period
• More than R50 million in relief to SMEs and Old Mutual’s own suppliers in the short-term insurance value chain who may be experiencing difficulties at this time
• R4.5 million conversion of the MuPine training facility into a 300-bed quarantine and self-isolation facility for use by the Western Cape provincial government in its efforts to flatten the curve in the province
• Old Mutual Mupine Golf Club was also added as Lancet’s third official COVID-19 testing facility in the Western Cape.

Old Mutual’s overall efforts tackled a broad range of needs, as follows:

EDUCATION SUPPORT

• The Old Mutual Foundation launched its 21 Acts of Goodness campaign to support the 2020 Matric Class, in partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation, LoveLife, BrandSA and the Mpumalanga Department of Education, as well as the Deputy Minister of Education.
• Free radio and TV lessons are being rolled out for learners in grades one to 12, thanks to a partnership with the national Department of Basic Education (DBE) and provincial Departments of Education
• The Dial-a-Tutor initiative gives learners access to the best teachers in SA via interactive virtual classrooms
• High-quality digital e-learning materials are being delivered to learners and teachers across the country
• As part of the DBE’s steering team on the COVID-19 Response, Old Mutual works closely with the department to ramp up support across the country and to support school recovery programmes.

HYGIENE, HEALTH, SAFETY AND SANITATION SUPPORT

• Through a partnership with the Imbumba Foundation and its Soap4Hope campaign, Old Mutual is distributing hygiene products and sound advice to vulnerable communities across SA
• Old Mutual partnered with Higher Health to raise awareness through community radio stations, webinars and SMS alerts.

FOOD SECURITY

• The Old Mutual Staff Volunteer Fund Trust has contributed R2 million towards food-relief efforts. Through FoodForward SA and other NPO partners, it distributes food parcels to homes for the aged, shelters for women and youth, child-headed households and early childhood development centres
• Old Mutual helps the Department of Social Development and various NGOs to provide food parcels and vouchers to thousands of children and families in need
• It supports the Each1 Feed1 Campaign of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Imbumba Foundation and Kolisi Foundation
• Through sponsorship of Move the Nation, Old Mutual aims to help raise R6 million for Joint Aid Management
• Through a partnership with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Old Mutual is also reaching out to vulnerable refugees and the forcibly displaced.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THE PROVINCES

• The group’s provincial management board (its official representation in each of the country’s nine provinces) has partnered with government and civil society to provide community relief efforts in the health, education and food-security sectors worth more than R2 million
• These efforts include the provision of PPE, hospital tents and beds and food parcels, in conjunction with an array of regional and provincial partners.

REST OF AFRICA

• Relief funding worth R16 million is being directed towards food and nutrition, health and education across the countries it operates in on the continent
• Many of these countries have also contributed significantly with their own in-country commitments, collectively donating more than R8.5 million to COVID-19 relief efforts. Old Mutual remains committed to working with its partners across sectors to build back better as economies are restored; fill the gap for impacted communities; and deliver on its purpose of championing mutually positive futures every day.

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www.oldmutual.co.za