Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja has urged African countries to take charge of their own development by channelling domestic pension savings into major infrastructure projects.
Speaking at the All Africa Pensions Summit held at the Munyonyo Convention Centre recently, Nabbanja said Africa’s transformation must be anchored in the continent’s own resources.
“We can no longer depend on external partners whose priorities keep changing. Our pension funds hold the key to Africa’s self-sustaining growth,” she told delegates.
She noted that Africa’s pension funds are a significant resource for developing Africa’s economy “if we took advantage of the $1.4 trillion in pension funds in Africa. This portfolio is quite big as compared to that of the World Bank. So, if we took advantage, we can do a lot.” she said.
The summit, which was hosted by the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), brought together pension leaders, policymakers and investment managers from across the continent to explore how Africa’s pension assets could close the continent’s annual infrastructure financing deficit.
NSSF executive director Patrick Ayota painted a practical vision of how African pension funds can become key financiers of the continent’s development. “Pension funds can serve as local investors for local economies,” he said.
“We want to ensure we can catalyze infrastructure funding in Africa.” Ayota pointed out that Uganda’s retirement benefits sector has grown from Shs 21.4 trillion in 2023 to Shs 25.4 trillion in 2025, proving the potential of domestic savings. However, he highlighted the need to widen the pool to include workers in the informal sector.
“We need to widen the pool. People often assume that those in the informal sector cannot save. We just need to create a vehicle they can trust, and they will save,” Ayota said, pointing to organized informal groups such as boda boda associations.
Ayota stated that East African pension funds are already moving towards collective action, with an agreement among the East African Community member countries to set aside one per cent of their assets for a shared investment pool of an estimated $400 million.
He also challenged African funds to stop waiting for foreign investors to define and finance African projects. “Why are we waiting for projects such as the Entebbe Expressway to be negotiated out there? Why don’t we take the lead?” he asked.
David Owino, the chairperson of the East Africa Venture Capital Association (EAVCA), urged Africans to trust themselves with their own development destiny.
“For too long, we have leaned on external capital for financing. Today, less than one per cent of private equity funds operating in Africa come from within the continent,” Owino said.
“There are people who believe in developing Africa more than Africans believe in developing themselves. If we don’t trust ourselves, innovate our own models, and build our own structures, nobody will do it for us.”
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