FIRST Mutual Holdings Limited (FMHL) plans to invest up to US$10 million this year in health services, funeral businesses and regional expansion.
Group chief executive Douglas Hoto said the investment would target expansion in Zimbabwe and regional markets, particularly Rwanda and Mozambique, where the company is seeking to deepen its insurance operations.
The planned capital deployment comes after FMHL returned to profitability, posting a US$14,3 million profit in 2025 from a US$26,2 million loss recorded previously.
“In Zimbabwe, we will be directing capital to our growth areas, which are funeral services and health services,” Hoto told businessdigest in an interview.
“And also in the region, we will be putting more capital in Diamond Seguros and in Rwanda. We expect in the current financial year to spend anything from US$5 million to US$10 million on those activities.”
The group recently secured a licence to open insurance operations in Rwanda, adding to its existing presence in Botswana and Mozambique.
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Hoto described Botswana and Rwanda as relatively business-friendly markets, particularly in relation to the movement of money and payments.
“Botswana has much better policies in terms of movement of money and making payments much easier,” he said. “For Mozambique, there is some kind of language barrier, but we are overcoming that.”
He said the group’s latest profitability was being supported mainly by its insurance operations rather than investment fair value gains.
“Most of our profit, the US$14 million we talk about, is coming from insurance operations, and we have improved the margins from an underwriting result and also from reducing the expenses,” Hoto said.
“We expect that the expense ratio will keep on going down as we become more efficient, use technology, and as the volume increases.”
FMHL is also increasing investment in technology and healthcare infrastructure as part of a broader strategy to improve operational efficiency and strengthen resilience against potential policy shifts in Zimbabwe’s currency market.
With nearly 85% of its revenue now generated in United States dollars, Hoto said the group was adapting its business model to preserve value for clients.
“That is why we are actually having our own clinics and pharmacies, so that there will be an equivalence of value,” he said.
“You pay a premium there, and you get the goods there. In the same vein, at the funeral services, we are building our own parlours and all that, so that will mitigate any current change in terms of providing the same to the clients.”
The group has also earmarked about US$7 million in capital expenditure for 2026, with a significant portion expected to be directed towards information technology systems and healthcare service provision.
Hoto said FMHL remained optimistic about demand growth across its insurance divisions, particularly as it expands lower-cost health insurance products targeted at Zimbabwe’s cash economy.
“We have a cash economy strategy where we use our micro-finance as the front foot. But the people in the cash economy need financing options to do their business.
“So, we give them small loans, and then we tell them more about us, and then they start buying insurance as they go along. That is our access route to the cash economy.”
The company will also increase its exposure to small and medium enterprises.