- African Social Security Association has entered into alliance with the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) to mobilize $1.17 trillion in national savings for infrastructure investment.
- Under a plan dubbed ‘Africa Saving for Growth’ program, the push will run under the auspices of the Global Africa Business Initiative (GABI), part of the UN Global Compact.
- Program seeks to expand Africa’s capital-pools dataset, and increase allocation to infrastructure and private sector-led projects in Africa.
A new program involving social security institutions across 15 countries in Africa seeks to mobilize up to unlock $1.17 trillion in national savings for critical infrastructure investments.
The deal, which was unveiled under the Global Africa Business Initiative (GABI) during the ongoing UN General Assembly in New York is tailored around a reform program that seeks to expand Africa’s capital-pools dataset, and increase allocation to infrastructure and private sector-led projects in Africa.
In an update to newsrooms, the ‘Africa Saving for Growth’ program brings together social security institutions from 15 countries, Morocco’s CDG Group, and the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC).
“Africa-led investment is the most effective way to quickly achieve the scale of transformation we need while catalysing international support for the continent’s infrastructure,” said Samaila Zubairu, President & CEO of AFC.
Samalia added: “This initiative is about Africans coming together to put our own capital to work for Africa’s growth. By joining forces, our pension funds and financial institutions can unlock new opportunities, drive development, and demonstrate the power of collective action to build the continent’s future – without compromising fiduciary duties.”
Tapping social security funds to invest in invest in long-term infrastructure
According to the AFC and the Africa Social Security Association (ASSA), the continent-wide initiative will bring together institutional savings to work invest in long-term infrastructure, a plan that builds on AFC’s 2025 analysis that identified at least $1.17 trillion in institutional assets across Africa.
Introduced under the auspices of the Global Africa Business Initiative (GABI), which is part of the UN Global Compact, the ‘Africa Saving for Growth’ program prioritizes specific deliverables that international investors and policymakers can act on. Some of them will include:
Open capital-pools database: Under this category, the ‘Africa Saving for Growth’ initiative will create and regularly update the most comprehensive, market-accessible dataset on African institutional savings, including pension funds, insurance, social security institutions, public development banks and sovereign wealth funds.
Policy reform roadmap: Here, ‘Africa Saving for Growth’ will offer practical recommendations—prudential guidelines, risk-sharing mechanisms, and intermediation vehicles—that enable pension and social-security funds to invest in infrastructure while preserving asset-liability matching.
Savings mobilization playbook: Country-level strategies to increase formal participation and reduce the drag from large informal economies.
Allocation diversification models: Pathways to shift portfolios away from short-term, low-yield instruments that concentrate public-sector exposure and crowd out private enterprise.
Catalyze social and economic development: High impact projects that can catalyze social and economic development in African countries by connecting people, countries, boost productivity and improve quality of life of the people in Africa and ensure Pension Funds sustainability.
The research and advocacy initiative is delivered with leading long-term savings institutions, including the Africa Social Security Association (ASSA)—bringing together national social security funds from 15 countries with more than $54 billion in pension assets—and CDG Group (Morocco), one of the continent’s most influential stewards of long-duration capital.
AFC’s 2025 statistics show that pension and social-security portfolios across many markets are under-leveraged for development, concentrated in short-tenor instruments that limit returns and private-sector financing.
Africa Saving for Growth program
The Africa Saving for Growth program will surface replicable lessons from successful national models and chart a pragmatic route to risk-managed, long-duration allocations.
“This alliance is a pivotal step for Africa’s long-term savings community—bringing together pension, social security, and other institutional investors,” said Meshach Bandawe, Secretary General of the Africa Social Security Association (ASSA). “This initiative reflects the ambition of the African Union’s Agenda 2063: building a prosperous and inclusive Africa, underpinned by vibrant domestic and regional financial markets, connected by modern infrastructure and powered by shared growth.”
“African pension funds and institutional investors face the challenge of harnessing domestic savings and transforming them into a true driver of economic and social development, particularly through infrastructure financing. We work closely with sister organizations across Africa to align efforts, share expertise, and unlock the full potential of long-term capital in the service of responsible development,” said Khalid Safir, Director General, Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion (CDG).
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