By Shruti Menon Seeboo, with inputs from Alvyn Savrimuthu and Samantha Seewoosurrun
The 8th Pensions Fund and Alternative Investments Africa conference 2025 commenced its pivotal deliberations in Mauritius, establishing a clear and compelling trajectory for mobilising long-term capital to achieve maximum impact and sustainable economic growth across the diverse African continent. The opening day served as a powerful platform for articulating both the immense opportunities and the critical imperatives for strategic action within the burgeoning landscape of African pension funds and alternative investments. Insightful addresses from key stakeholders, including Mohammed Abdul-Razaq of the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), Armando Manuel of the Fundo Soberano de Angola (FSDEA), Admir Imani of the TDB Group, and Dr the Hon. Mrs Jyoti Jeetun, the Minister of Financial Services and Economic Planning of Mauritius, collectively contributed to a rich and nuanced narrative of potential and the collaborative spirit required to unlock it.
The opening ceremony began with a virtual address from Mohammed Abdul-Razaq, Senior Vice President and Head of Capital Mobilisation & Partnership at the AFC. He delivered a compelling message underscoring the AFC’s unwavering commitment to empowering African institutional investors in their exploration and adoption of alternative asset classes, with a particular emphasis on infrastructure development as a fundamental catalyst for sustainable progress.
Mr Abdul-Razaq stated: “This underscores our long-standing commitment supporting Africa’s institutional investors, particularly on potential asset classes such as infrastructure,” which he saw as contributing to achieving maximum impact on sustainability. His address passionately advocated for a decisive and strategic shift towards the realm of alternative investments, meticulously highlighting the substantial and largely untapped potential residing within the considerable trillions of dollars currently managed by African pension funds. He issued a clear call to action for both governments and institutional investors to proactively channel capital towards impactful and transformative projects, firmly positioning the AFC as a pivotal facilitator in this crucial endeavour. Furthermore, he articulated three key overarching priorities – strategic diversification into alternative assets, fostering robust collaboration amongst stakeholders, and a resolute commitment to decisive implementation of investment strategies.
Following Mr Abdul-Razaq’s insightful address, Armando Manuel, Chairman of the Board of Directors, FSDEA (Fundo Soberano), Angola, took the podium to share his perspective. He warmly lauded the conference as a “timely and strategic forum for Africa’s pension funded outreach investments,” proudly affirming FSDEA’s role as a sponsor and staunch supporter of this vital initiative. Mr Manuel astutely highlighted the remarkable and rapid growth trajectory of sovereign wealth and pension funds across the African continent, noting that they now collectively manage assets exceeding US$350 billion, with an increasing appetite for strategically diversifying their portfolios beyond the confines of traditional asset classes.
He drew the forum’s attention to Africa’s significant and pressing infrastructure deficit, estimated to be in excess of US$100 billion annually, while simultaneously pointing out the compelling investment opportunities that abound in critical sectors such as agriculture, burgeoning FinTech, essential logistics, and vital healthcare. In this context, he emphatically asserted the central and increasingly critical role of alternative investments, encompassing private infrastructure development, dynamic venture capital initiatives, and tangible real assets, offering a compelling proposition of “uncorrelated returns, inflation protection and above all, direct impact on development options.”
Mr Manuel advocated for the establishment and strengthening of co-investing platforms, bringing together the collective strength of sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, and development finance institutions to effectively pool capital resources, strategically share inherent risks, and elevate governance standards across the investment landscape. He underscored the paramount importance of strategic cooperation, firmly grounded in the principles of transparency, the robust integration of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) factors, and meaningful localisation, as essential tools to effectively address the geographical asymmetries that characterise the diverse nations and the broader continent. He concluded his address with a powerful call to collective action: “As the sponsors of this forum, we are not only here to support the conversation, but we are also here to be active participants in building innovative Financial Solutions that reflect Africa. Let us use this opportunity to deepen our networks, to lock capital forward impactful projects and align Africa s broader agenda of sustainable development, agenda that can create shows, agenda that can make our economy.”
The forum then heard from Admir Imani, Senior Advisor at TDB Group, who delivered an impassioned address on the fundamental imperative of effectively mobilising African capital to drive the continent’s multifaceted development – a core and deeply ingrained principle within the TDB Group’s operational philosophy. Mr Imani stated: “Join me today to talk about a powerful idea, one that TDB Group has not only changed, but should be mobilised for African development.” He outlined the TDB Group’s remarkable evolution from its origins as a development finance institution primarily focused on facilitating trade and infrastructure projects into a dynamic and increasingly influential multifaceted financial ecosystem that now operates across an expansive network of 26 member countries. Mr Imani underlined the TDB Group’s enduring commitment to the principles of sustainable development and enhanced regional integration. He elaborated on the TDB’s comprehensive and multifaceted approach, which strategically encompasses a diverse array of financial vehicles, including impactful trade global funds, crucial capacity building initiatives aimed at strengthening local expertise, and a dedicated focus on the curation and effective management of historical investment opportunities for a wide spectrum of investors, notably including significant institutional players.
Central to Mr Imani’s insightful address was the critically important theme of effectively mobilising the substantial trillions of dollars in assets currently held by institutional investors across the African continent. He acknowledged the growing recognition among these institutions of the strategic importance of seeking out and allocating capital to alternative asset classes that offer attractive, risk-adjusted returns while also aligning with their core investment mandates and increasingly important ESG considerations.
Mr Imani strategically positioned the TDB Group as playing a truly “transformative role” in effectively bridging this existing gap between available capital and impactful investment opportunities. Employing a vivid analogy drawn from a recent successful fund launch event, he quoted a participant’s apt description of TDB as being “both a midwife and a matchmaker,” a sentiment with which he wholeheartedly concurred. He eloquently illustrated TDB’s “midwife” role through the successful creation and launch of innovative financial vehicles, such as the pioneering class C shares introduced in 2012, which effectively welcomed over 20 significant institutional investors into their shareholder family, providing not only attractive financial returns but also a clear alignment with their overarching investment objectives and mandates. He further highlighted the subsequent successful launch of class C green shares, including the establishment of a dedicated project preparation facility designed to de-risk and accelerate impactful green investments.
In its capacity as a “matchmaker,” Mr Imani proudly showcased the impressive achievements of TDB’s dedicated asset management arm, the Eastern and Southern African Trade Fund (ESATF). He underscored the tangible and significant development outcomes that have resulted from this fund’s strategic investments, effectively supporting the real economy across both East and South Africa, including vital support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), women-led businesses, smaller-scale agricultural initiatives, the burgeoning green energy sector, essential healthcare infrastructure, and even pioneering vaccine development initiatives, such as mRNA medical advancements.
Looking strategically towards the future, Mr Imani outlined TDB’s ambitious plans to launch a series of further innovative financial products, including dedicated vehicles specifically targeting critical areas such as infrastructure development, green and sustainable housing initiatives, the rapidly evolving e-mobility sector, and specialised trade finance solutions. He also alluded to potential future launches in other strategically important areas. Mr Imani effectively summarised TDB’s overarching approach as being driven by a deeply ingrained “strong sense of purpose, innovation and partnership,” working collaboratively and strategically hand-in-hand with institutional investors not merely to channel financial resources, but also to build enduring trust, establish robust and effective investment platforms, and cultivate a strong sense of mutual confidence.
In his concluding remarks, Mr Imani emphasised the positioning the TDB Group as a key and reliable player in the African alternative asset management landscape, ready and willing to forge meaningful connections, effectively channel African capital towards compelling African opportunities, and ultimately contribute to writing significant stories of impact to shape prosperity across the continent.
The opening session of the conference reached its culmination with a significant Ministerial Speech delivered by Dr the Hon. Mrs Jyoti Jeetun, Minister of Financial Services and Economic Planning of Mauritius. She extended a warm welcome to all the distinguished delegates and underscored the paramount significance of the conference as a vital platform for the African region. Minister Jeetun outlined her government’s unwavering commitment to actively fostering a conducive and enabling environment for the robust growth of financial services and the effective mobilisation of capital, all in direct support of Africa’s ongoing and crucial economic transformation. She remarked: “One of the three priorities of our new government is to develop a win-win strategy where the financial services sector can thrive. At a governmental level, we are working very intensively on putting in place a comprehensive roadmap to achieve this African strategy.”
Minister Jeetun drew attention to the multitude of challenges currently facing pension funds on a global scale, including significant demographic shifts and prevailing economic headwinds, and stressed the urgent need for the adoption of innovative and forward-thinking strategies, coupled with a fundamental and comprehensive re-evaluation of existing funding mechanisms. She strongly and persuasively advocated for the increasingly crucial role of alternative investments in strategically enhancing the growth and resilience of pension funds, drawing upon successful examples and best practices from other regions around the world. She highlighted Africa’s immense and largely untapped economic potential, while also underscoring the critical imperative of cultivating a robust and deeply ingrained savings culture across the continent, effectively supported by proactive policy reforms and the strategic adoption of digital enablement technologies.
Addressing the pertinent issues of concentrated pension wealth within a limited number of African nations and the concerningly low overall pension coverage rates, particularly within the significant informal sector, she called for concerted efforts to promote greater inclusivity and the proactive exploration of promising investment opportunities within infrastructure development and other pertinent alternative asset classes.
The Minister also emphasised the paramount importance of fostering enhanced regional collaboration and diligently pursuing the harmonisation of regulatory frameworks across the continent to create a more attractive, stable, and transparent investment landscape for both domestic and international investors. Drawing upon Mauritius’s own valuable experience and its growing prominence as a key regional financial centre, she thoughtfully outlined several key priorities for the future strategic direction of African pension funds, including the crucial alignment of regulatory standards, the essential building of local capacity and expertise, and the fostering of greater cross-border cooperation in investment initiatives.
She concluded her address with a powerful and unifying message of collective action and shared responsibility: “The future of African pensions lies in our ability to innovate and collaborate. By prioritising sustainable practices, we can not only enhance our investment returns but also contribute to the long-term prosperity of the communities in which we are investing.”
The powerful insights and calls to action delivered on the opening day of the 8th Pensions Fund and Alternative Investments Africa conference 2025 have firmly set the stage for further in-depth discussions. The agenda for this first day promises to delve deeper into practical strategies and enabling frameworks, with sessions exploring the Global Perspective on how pension funds can fuel infrastructure development and impact economies using international best practice scenarios, followed by high-level conversations with industry leaders on strategies for institutional investors to play a greater role for fund growth and added value. Delegates will also engage in critical discussions on the evolving regulatory lay of the land and the creation of an enabling environment for pension fund investment, and finally, explore alternative investment pathways to economic growth, focusing on deploying institutional impact capital into critical sectors of the economy. The momentum generated on this opening day underscores the collective commitment to unlocking Africa’s investment potential for a sustainable and prosperous tomorrow.
