As South Africa marks Women’s Month under the theme “Empowered Women Empower Nations”, the conversation around women in business continues to move beyond representation towards the role women play in shaping businesses, making decisions and creating opportunities.
At CTU Underwriting Managers, that contribution can be seen across different parts of the business. From its shareholder base and investment partners to the team responsible for serving customers, women are playing an important role in shaping the company’s direction and growth.
Three women, in particular, bring very different perspectives to the business.
Three women, three perspectives
Babalwa Ngonyama, CEO of Sinayo Securities, represents CTU’s largest shareholder, a majority black female-owned JSE member firm. Her own career has been shaped by resilience, discipline and a strong belief in understanding yourself and staying focused, even when circumstances change.
For Babalwa, success is not simply about what you accumulate. It is about what you are able to build, the decisions you make along the way and the opportunities you create for others.
That perspective is particularly relevant in a business such as CTU, where long-term thinking and sound decision-making are critical.
Within CTU, Fahmida Omar brings a customer-focused perspective to the business as Chief Customer Officer, overseeing sales, marketing and underwriting. Her portfolio goes beyond service and support, she is responsible for driving customer strategy, growth and distribution across the business, ensuring that how CTU reaches and serves the market is shaped by a clear commercial view.
Her career in insurance includes senior roles at Hollard Insurance Group, where she worked across account management and major banking partnerships. At CTU, that experience comes together in a role that sits at the intersection of customer insight and commercial strategy, using a deep understanding of operators and the market to inform the decisions that drive the business forward.
For a specialist insurer serving the commuter bus and taxi industry, that means more than providing cover. It means understanding the businesses behind those vehicles, the risks they face, and translating that insight into the growth and distribution strategy that keeps CTU responsive to an evolving market
Valerie Hayter, Managing Director of Lireas Holdings and Hannover Re Africa’s strategic investment arm, brings the perspective of a private equity investor with 26 years of experience in identifying, investing in and growing specialist insurance businesses. Through Lireas, a founding shareholder of CTU, she works closely with entrepreneurial management teams to build resilient businesses, unlock growth opportunities and create long-term value. Passionate about expanding access to insurance, Valerie believes specialist insurers such as CTU have a vital role to play in closing South Africa’s insurance protection gap and serving markets that are often overlooked by traditional insurance models.
Different roles, a shared contribution
The three women occupy very different positions in relation to CTU, but each brings something important to the business.
Babalwa brings the perspective of a shareholder and business leader. Fahmida brings the perspective of an executive working directly with customers and the business. Valerie brings the perspective of an investor with deep experience in insurance and reinsurance.
Together, they reflect the different ways women are contributing to the insurance sector, not only through leadership positions, but through the decisions they make, the businesses they support and the people they serve.
For CTU, Women’s Month is therefore an opportunity to recognise the women who are helping shape the business and the industry around it.
As the insurance sector continues to evolve, having different perspectives around the table matters. It strengthens decision-making, brings a deeper understanding of customers and creates businesses that are better equipped to respond to a changing market.
At CTU, these three women are each contributing to that journey in their own way, helping to build a business that understands its customers, manages risk and supports a safer, more resilient commuter transport sector.
