Awash Insurance Company (AIC) has come to an agreement with Deloitte East Africa for the latter to design a 10-year strategic plan and a 10-year performance road map dubbed "Transforming Awash Insurance - Vision 2030". Awash is the first insurance firm to hire a foreign consultant.

The two firms kicked off the project at a ceremony held at the Hilton Addis Hotel on January 21, 2021, three days after an agreement between the duo was signed. The latest project will be the fourth such strategy to be implemented by the firm, with the third strategic plan set to expire in June 2021.

Deloitte is expected to finalise the strategy in three months. Besides, it will provide support to the insurance firm for a year in implementing the strategy. However, the international consulting firms entering such deals with several of the banks paid between 600,000 dollars to 800,000 dollars.

Deloitte, which provides audit, consulting, financial advisory, risk advisory, tax and legal services with approximately 312,000 professionals globally, won the project after vying with eight firms. Floated on March 26, 2019, the tender for the service had drawn the attention of international firms including KPMG, PwC and Ernst & Young.

Deloitte was chosen after considering the firm's vast experience in similar projects and an agreeable asking price, according to Workneh Mekonnen, project manager at Awash, which has managed to boost its net profit by 31pc to 209.8 million Br during the past fiscal year.

The selection might have come sooner if negotiations had not been interrupted by the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, according to Workneh.

Deloitte is expected to identify gaps in the insurance firm's operational procedures, suggest improvements, develop a 10-year strategic document and draw up a 10-year performance road map. It will also provide strategic monitoring and evaluation support to the company, according to the contractual agreement.

The transformation has three major phases, according to Joe Eshun, CEO of Deloitte East Africa, which operates under Deloite Consulting, that earned 46.2 billion dollars in revenues in 2019.