IIG News

Roots and Wings — Six Years of Cross-Industry Mentorship

July 7, 2026

A Personal Reflection on the IIG Roots & Wings Mentorship Programme

Mentorship has become one of the most enriching commitments of my professional life. For six years, I have had the privilege of serving as a mentor within the Insurance Institute of Gauteng’s Roots and Wings (Local and Internationally) mentorship programme [1], a flagship initiative that, since its inception almost a decade ago, has paired more than one hundred and fifty mentors and mentees, coordinated by Linda Coetzee and Associates [2][3]. The programme connects mentees with seasoned non-life insurance practitioners through a structured nine-month journey of personal and professional development [1][2].

What sets Roots and Wings apart is the deliberate design of three core elements. In the first instance, it is a cross-industry pairing: mentees are intentionally matched with mentors from outside their own organisation, thereby freeing the conversation from internal politics and unlocking frank, objective dialogue [2]. Secondly, the programme is formalised, anchored by a launch event, a pairing process built around chemistry, monthly face-to-face engagements, and quarterly check-ins facilitated by Linda and Jenna, which gives the relationship the discipline it requires to deliver outcomes [2]. Thirdly, all participants benefit from cohort learning, whereby pairs convene to exchange what is working and what is not, thereby augmenting the bilateral relationship with collective insight [2].

Over my tenure, I have walked alongside several remarkable young professionals, including Aaron Mrabalala (during the 2020 lockdown cohort [4]), Jason Arnott, and Juanita Myburgh [5], and each engagement has reaffirmed why I continue to volunteer. Reflecting upon that earlier period, I described the experience as “a formidable one as I collaborate with people who want to grow themselves” [5]. That conviction holds today with equal force. To observe a mentee grow from cautious tentativeness in the first month to confident strategic articulation by the closing review is a privilege that no boardroom appointment quite matches. The reciprocity is equally compelling: as Tracy McLaughlin has rightly observed of her own mentees, the most valuable mentorships are those in which the mentor learns just as much in return [6].

My current mentee, Theresa Vuma, is one such young professional [8]. She arrived with intellectual curiosity, technical aptitude and a quiet ambition that ought to serve her exceptionally well. Over the coming months, I shall accompany her as she navigates positioning, professional voice, and the long arc of a career in non-life insurance. Her potential extends well beyond what the eyes are meeting. With the South African motor and parametric markets evolving rapidly, the next generation of practitioners shall inherit an extraordinary canvas upon which to build. Theresa is precisely the calibre of professional who shall help shape that future.

The mentorship agreement itself is admirable for its clarity. It codifies confidentiality, the monthly contact obligation, mutual respect, and the locus of accountability. The mentee owns the journey, whilst the mentor offers experience, perspective and constructive challenge. It is, in essence, a covenant of trust to which structure has been given. The IIG further reinforces the relationship through review touchpoints, a closing graduation, and an explicit injunction from the Council that, upon graduation, today’s mentees shall, in due course, mentor others [7].

For so long as the Insurance Institute of Gauteng shall continue to host Roots and Wings, I shall continue to put my hand up.