An Actuary Like Me – George Odera
I can apply my skills to develop innovative solutions that create a positive impact in society and contribute towards financial inclusion.
George Odera is an actuary with over 10 years’ experience in insurance, regulations, digital financial services, and mobile money payments. He has the ability and drive to combine actuarial modelling with technology to provide solutions that meet both customers’ needs and business expectations, achieve financial inclusion, optimise business operations, and improve customer experience.
Why are you proud to be an actuary?
I can apply my skills to develop innovative solutions that create a positive impact in society and contribute towards financial inclusion.
What is the most valuable skill an actuary can possess?
Being continuously aware of the pain points for customers and businesses and developing solutions that address those pain points.
What is your best advice for younger/rising actuaries?
Invest your time to understand how you can use emerging technologies to compliment your technical actuarial skills.
What’s something an outsider wouldn’t know about your industry?
There are 2,000 mobile money transactions per second in Kenya, 15.75 billion transactions p.a. valued at USD 230 billion and daily disbursements of USD 13 million worth of mobile money overdrafts.
Any other cities/countries you have worked in?
Kenya, Rwanda and Zambia
What’s the most interesting trend for 2023?
Next generation AI (ChatGPT), pushing human imagination.
Where do you see the biggest growth opportunities for actuaries?
Blending actuarial skills with the evolving technology to offer simple and relevant solutions to complex problems.
What do you do to recharge each day?
I spend time with my wife and 2 kids each evening.
What do you like to do in your free time? What are your hobbies?
Aviation-Cross country flying.
What’s the phone app you use most?
M-PESA (Mobile money app). It contains several mini apps that fit into my daily lifestyle.
What is your favourite random fact?
“Forty” is the only number that is spelt with letters arranged in alphabetical order.
What is on your bucket list?
Fly a sea plane.
If you had millions of dollars, what would you do every day?
Use it to make an impact in the lives of families to whom one dollar a day would make a difference.
If you lived 500 years in the future, what do you think your profession would be?
An Actuary.
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