The saying ‘curiosity killed the cat’ is often used as a warning against being overly inquisitive. For Hamza Mutebi, however, curiosity became the spark that set off a remarkable career journey. What began as a desire to understand how businesses operate and create value gradually evolved into a lifelong pursuit of knowledge, leadership and professional growth.
Today, as Chief Executive Officer of Statewide Insurance Company (SWICO), Mutebi credits much of his success to a willingness to ask questions, seek new experiences and embrace opportunities to learn. His rise to the helm of one of Uganda’s indigenous insurance companies is rooted in humble beginnings.
Before earning appointment as CEO of SWICO, he worked as a vendor selling SIM cards for MTN Uganda. His story reflects how determination, continuous learning and openness to opportunity can transform modest beginnings into significant professional achievement. Like many successful leaders across sectors, Mutebi’s career was shaped not by privilege but by perseverance and self-improvement. His journey shows that curiosity, when combined with hard work and ambition, can open doors that might otherwise remain closed.
Early career and the turning point
Mutebi began his professional life in frontline commercial roles within the telecommunications sector, including telecom retail and airtime distribution. He later transitioned into financial services, joining a licensed brokerage firm operating on the Uganda Securities Exchange. There, he gained exposure to securities trading, investment advisory services and relationships with high-net-worth clients. A defining moment came during the 2008 global financial crisis.
The experience exposed him to the realities of financial risk and reinforced the importance of disciplined financial planning. ‘The crisis taught me that risk is not theoretical; it affects real people, investments and livelihoods,’ he says. Around the same time, a friend’s introduction to the insurance sector redirected his curiosity towards risk management and protection. He often explains insurance through a simple but powerful question: ‘What if it happens?’ That question has since become central to his approach to insurance education, helping people understand insurance not as an expense, but as a practical tool for protecting families, businesses, assets and long-term plans.
Building expertise across financial services
Mutebi later played a key role in launching unit trust funds at UAP Insurance before moving to Accra, Ghana, where he gained further experience in financial services. On returning to Uganda, he joined MTN Group’s insurtech venture aYo as Country Launcher. He later served as Country Director at Turaco, a regional micro-insurance company, a role he held for about six years. His appointment as CEO of SWICO took effect on July 1, 2025, during a significant leadership transition at the company.
Founded more than four decades ago, SWICO is among Uganda’s oldest indigenous general insurance firms. While it entered the transition with a strong legacy and established market presence, it also faced sector-wide challenges, including low insurance penetration, shifting customer expectations, pressure for faster claims settlement and the need for greater digitisation. In 2025, SWICO recorded gross written premiums of approximately Shs20.39 billion, insurance service revenue of Shs15.43 billion, net underwriting profit of Shs609.69 million and about 34,945 active policies. Since assuming office, Mutebi has focused on accelerating growth, improving digital automation, enhancing customer experience, strengthening cash flow management, speeding up claims settlement, encouraging product innovation and building a high-performance culture.
A career defined by evolution
Mutebi’s professional path has moved from frontline sales and financial services operations into capital markets, investment products, insurtech, micro-insurance and ultimately executive leadership in general insurance. Each stage broadened his understanding of financial products, customer behaviour and the central role of trust in financial services. At SWICO, he is now applying that experience to strengthen a 44-year-old indigenous insurer, helping it adapt to changing customer needs through technology, product innovation, faster claims processing and public education.