29-year-old with large footing in health insurance

Ariho, who is an IT graduate, says he did not want to be confined to one area and that is why he tried out different things. Photo by Abubaker Lubowa

Behind his calm, low toned demeanour is a shrewd go-getter, who calculates his steps before he reacts. At 29, Trevor Ariho is the General Manager of AAR Insurance company. Growing up, Ariho dreamed of becoming a lawyer.

He actually worked hard to attain the qualification, but changed plans when his elder sister convinced him to study Information Technology (IT) at Makerere University. “Her argument was that law was overcrowded and that it would be difficult for me to penetrate the market so I enrolled for IT in 2005,” he recalls.

Change of plans
He, however, confesses he didn’t have a passion for IT and knew he would never practise it.
In the first semester of year one, he says he saw an advert for sub-editors at the Red Pepper and he applied for it.

At A-Level, he had done Literature in English so he felt he had the skill.

While applying for the job, he researched on what it entailed to be a sub-editor.
So when he finally submitted the application, it was simply the concept about how he would go about the job.

Wondering how he applied for a journalism-related job yet he was pursuing a technology course; he says, “I needed a job and there was an opportunity to get one, the profession didn’t matter.”

It was a matter of time before Ariho was appointed a lifestyle magazine editor, a role he did for six months before being promoted to business editor.
This was the section he managed for two years before joining public relations.

Asked how he was able to manage this alongside school, Ariho says when he started working, he switched to evening class.

The world of public relations
A week to graduation, Ariho got an offer from ZK, an advertising firm, to work as the public relations manager in charge of the media.

Three days later, he got another offer to work as a systems administrator in another company.

Faced with a dilemma, he decided to give both a shot. First, he tried the IT related slot but worked there only two days and resigned.

“I realised I then did not want to spend the rest of my life blowing computers, it was not fun, so I quit even when the pay was better than what ZK was offering,” he recalls.

“ZK was everything I wanted in a job. My first assignment was to work with the team to organise the R. Kelly concert,” he reminiscences.

Low points
However, the fun was short-lived. Two years unto his job at ZK, the company collapsed and he was jobless for four months.

“This is by far my toughest time because then I was in my second year of Masters in Business Administration (MBA) at Makerere University and was also still renting.”

He relied on his savings and a few consultancy works from previous clients until a friend tipped him of a public relations officer slot at AAR. He applied and was shortlisted for interviews. Like they say the rest is history.

The AAR’s job was easy given that he was used to handling different clients.

He, however, confesses it was less exciting and there was a strict dress code he wasn’t accustomed to.

At one time his boss sent him back home to dress appropriately. “He wanted to send me to represent him at a certain interview but my outfit could not pass so he asked me to go back and dress for the occasion,” he recalls.

This was a lesson well learnt and he says he never took offense from the correction. From then on, his boss started delegating him more responsibilities.

The most outstanding was the UN Global Compact meeting where he was elected member of a steering committee.

Investment

When he learnt that the company was going to be split into two sections, he knew he wanted to join the insurance section so he enrolled for an online advanced diploma course in insurance.
“It was expensive because I had to sit the exams in Dubai but I knew it was a worthwhile investment,” he says. With small savings, Ariho borrowed money from his sister for a top up.

Thereafter, between 2012 and 2013, Ariho enrolled for the professional training of trainers for the Franklin Covey by Cemm group.

Adverts for the general manager position were out but Ariho never applied because he was “comfortable”. However, the person recruited, worked for eight months and resigned.

At about the same time, the head of sales resigned. In a management meeting, Ariho’s colleagues nominated him to head the team in the interim.

And in July 2014, the group chief executive officer made him the chairman of the management committee. On October 9, 2014 at a company retreat in Jinja, Ariho was appointed acting general manager until April when he was confirmed to the position.

Achievements

Ariho sits on two boards. At the Shakespeare Pharmaceuticals based in Derby Birmingham, UK and Youna Health Services, Switzerland as an African representative respectively.

On June 17, he was nominated for the humanitarian award in India for the fight against cancer for his advocacy work in lowering the costs for cancer treatment in India for Ugandans.

Ariho’s take on
Health insurance in Uganda
The insurance sector players in Uganda need to understand the needs of the people and sensitize them about how insurance works and make it affordable. The industry has not created enough options for people but we at AAR have begun customize our products.

Advice to young people
Young people need to interact with people outside their comfort zones because that way they will get new skills and get the right connections to the right jobs.
They also need to network with a chain of people because this increases one’s knowledge and perspective to things.

They should also not be too comfortable when they get to certain positions but strive even harder to get to the top positions. There is a tendency to relax when we get to a certain level.

Besides experience, qualifications are important so they should keep upgrading their academics. I enrolled for MBA immediately after my bachelor’s degree. If I didn’t have it I would not be elevated to the managerial position.

His secret
I think it’s my ability to work with a team because a team can make or break you.