Actuaries in Egypt: Breaking ground on the UNDP partnership

Maybe it didn’t fully sink in with Josh Collins until he was standing in front of the pyramids at Giza.

He – and Milliman – had traveled far across the globe to a beautiful and historic place where he sat in the presence of wondrous monuments to human ingenuity that date back 4,500 years. He couldn’t help but realize he truly was part of something big.

An inspiring partnership

Josh, a senior actuarial manager in our Health practice, traveled to Egypt in late September along with Microinsurance Centre managing director Michael McCord for two weeks to represent Milliman as part of the firm’s partnership with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), which is known as the UNDP-Milliman Global Actuarial Initiative (GAIN).  

The collaboration has a mission of contributing to the growth of actuarial expertise and helping countries and the insurance industry to better manage the increasing risks faced by people and enterprises in developing countries. 

Egypt was first on the list, and as the program manager, Josh couldn’t have been prouder of the work that was accomplished. 

“It was incredible,” Josh says. “It was inspiring. For me, personally, it was my first time in the North Africa, and Egypt is a fascinating country. There’s such a combination of new and old. The pyramids are just 20 minutes outside of a bustling downtown core. And also, culturally, you see the people who abide by the old traditions walking side by side down the street with the modern folks in business suitsDoing the work

The first half of the trip was dedicated to the global initiative and consisted of meeting in Cairo with 12 different groups, including two universities with actuarial science programs and various insurance companies.  

“We told them about our vision, heard their stories, and found out about their roles for actuaries,” Josh says. “In a country of 110 million people, there are only 35 known actuaries working, so it’s vastly different from the over 20,000 actuaries we see in the United States. There’s tremendous opportunity for actuaries to utilize their analytical skills to manage risks in the face of uncertainty.”

After three days alongside the UNDP Country Office, Josh and Michael facilitated a workshop where they were able to report on what they had learned, point out gaps and issues, and brainstorm on how they can start putting ideas to action and elevate the actuarial conversation in Egypt. 

Big plans ahead

The second half of the trip was spent in Sharm el-Sheikh, a resort town between the Sinai Desert and the Red Sea. Michael presented there, and he and Josh spent the rest of the time networking.  

“It was very rewarding,” Josh says. “I came away learning more than I had thought I would. You come in thinking we’re experts, we’re the actuaries. But I learned a lot from the folks in Egypt in understanding the fundamentals and practical, real-life scenarios they deal with.

“They work in such a general, broad sense. They’re actuaries, but they’re also on committees and they’re adjunct professors. Watching them work and linking them together around a common goal of how we break down silos and help people come together, that is some of our most important work. That was really encouraging and inspiring.”

The next countries on the list are Nepal, Nigeria, and Colombia, and the hope is that those visits can be finished by the end of the year.  

“We don’t want to go in and tell them what to do,” Josh says. “We want to hear their stories and then work to support them.”

To learn more about the UNDP-Milliman Global Actuarial Initiative (GAIN), read here.