July 2023
28Jul

FSD Africa, PenOp Partner To Strengthen Economic Sustainability

With the aim to strengthen economic sustainability through mobilisation of long-term capital for private sector financing, the Financial Sector Deepening Africa (FSD) Africa Capital Markets has sealed a partnership with the Pension Fund Operators’ Association of Nigeria (PenOp). The deal was finalized in Lagos at a conference theme, ‘Mobilising Patient Capital Via Innovative Financing Structures for Sustainable Development. FSD disclosed that as the largest economy in Africa, Nigeria has displayed resilience and substantial growth despite the negative impact posed by the...

July 28, 2023
News,
Read more...

June 2023
09Jun

Why Over 90% of Sub-Saharan African Workers Lack Pension Plan

Why Over 90% of Sub-Saharan African Workers Lack Pension Plan In the past six months, France has seen an uproar of aggravated workers who have taken to the streets to protest the government's new pension reform. In April, France's Constitutional Council, which plays a similar role to the US Supreme Court, approved the most controversial part of the reform - raising the retirement age from 62 to 64. On May 1, International Workers Day, around 112,000 people participated in the largest...

June 9, 2023
News,
Read more...

May 2023
19May

Africa’s vast potential lures U.S. investors in search of returns, impact

Africa for years has struggled to attract the notice of — and money from — American pension funds. But in the past two years, U.S. pension fund trustees and other billion-dollar asset owners appear more open to investing in some of Africa's 50-plus countries, particularly in infrastructure. Institutional investors are encouraged by a U.S. government-led geopolitical charm offensive in Africa, and are wagering on higher-risk returns amid inflation, Fed rate hikes and uneven portfolio performance at home. And pension funds may one...

May 19, 2023
News,
Read more...
18May

What’s the State of Sub-Saharan Africa’s Pension Savings?

Less than 10% of the workers in sub-Saharan Africa save for old age, the lowest rate for any region in the world. That implies most of the breadwinners today won’t be able to afford basic items after retirement. A pension plan is meant to commit employers to make regular savings so that employees will continue to earn after retirement. Pension schemes in sub-Saharan African countries are characterised by low contributions due to low earnings, high informality, high financial illiteracy levels and lack...

May 18, 2023
News, ,
Read more...
05May

Pensioners in South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria are among the poorest globally- report

A new report by Allianz, an international financial services provider, has revealed that retirees in several African countries are among the poorest globally. The report, which surveyed 75 countries, including five in Africa, cites an ineffective pension system and a lack of adequate retirement benefits as the major reasons for the alarming trend. In Egypt, for instance, the report notes that the gross benefit level is merely 18 per cent, leaving many senior citizens struggling to make ends meet. Similarly,...

May 5, 2023
News, ,
Read more...

April 2023
05Apr

Priorities for social security Trends, challenges and solutions

By Raúl Ruggia-Frick The International Social Security Association (ISSA) draws its value, strength and dynamism from its global membership, which consists of national institutions that administer the main social security programmes in their countries. This gives the Association a unique and privileged vantage point from which to identify and analyse priority administration and policy challenges in social security, and the many innovative responses and creative solutions to these. The ISSA was looking to the future when it set the priorities of...

April 5, 2023
Books, Books, System Sustainability, , ,
Read more...

March 2023
03Mar

African Pension Funds – Environmental, Social & Governance Factors Benchmarking Exercise

By Dr Rory Sullivan and Robert Black, Matthew Sullivan & Fiona Stewart African Pension Supervisors Forum, representing pension supervisory authorities from across the African region, invited the team to review the approach to incorporation of ESG factors into decision making by pension funds across the región This project assessed a sample of Africa’s pension funds on their sustainable investment related disclosure Strengths in disclosure were: 1.All of the funds provide good disclosure about their organisation, including their history, ownership, mission, governance structure...

March 3, 2023
Books, Books, System Characterization, ,
Read more...

October 2022
06Oct

Pension funds in sub-Saharan Africa

By Owen Nyang`oro & Githinji Njenga The population structure the world over is going through a demographic shift, and the elderly proportion is projected to increase with population growth. This change is a matter of concern for sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, where the majority of the people are young and the rates of both population growth and unemployment are high. A good pension system provides elderly assistance and is a source of savings for long-term investment. The pension systems in...

October 6, 2022
Articles, Pension Management, Savings, , ,
Read more...

September 2022
20Sep

African Women Impact Fund launches with USD$60 million commitment to drive an inclusive investment environment

The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and Standard Bank Group, with the support of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), the Motor Industry Retirement Funds (MIRF) and Copartes Pension Fund and the African Union Commission (AUC), have announced the African Women Impact Fund (AWIF) Initiative's achievement of its first commitment of USD$60 million. The announcement was made at the inaugural The Global Africa Business Initiative, held from 18 – 19 September during the week of the United...

September 20, 2022
News, , ,
Read more...

August 2022
12Aug

Social Protection for the Informal Economy. Operational Lessons for Developing Countries in Africa and Beyond

By Melis Guven, Himanshi Jain, & Clement Joubert The informal economy in Africa is large and diverse, and it is the main source of employment in the region. It is projected to grow and create more jobs. The informal economy is well established in the region, but it also faces a host of development challenges. It is characterized by low human capital and productivity compared with the formal economy and is typically associated with limited access to resources such as electricity, finance,...

August 12, 2022
Books, Labor Market, System Sustainability, , , ,
Read more...