“We can tap into Africa’s youthful population as potential pension fund contributors”

Rekha Chifuwe Mhango, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Zambia, discussed the necessity for pension funds to mobilise resources towards infrastructure development in Africa. In a Q&A with BIZWEEK, she emphasised the importance of a structured approach through financial institutions and markets, including Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) and government partnerships. Acknowledging the gap in pension growth due to differing regulations between formal and informal sectors, she advocated the use of technology to mobilise resources from Africa’s rapidly growing informal sector and youthful population. In light of post-COVID challenges such as debt, inflation, and foreign exchange issues, Rekha Chifuwe underscored the conference’s significance in creating an environment conducive to resource mobilisation, addressing climate risks, and incentivizing sustainable investments.

We have been discussing the growth of the African continent and the role played by pension funds and investments. Could you summarise the discussions held during the 7^th PIAFRICA Conference?

From what we’ve gathered, there’s a need for pension funds to mobilise resources that can be channelled into infrastructure development. When speaking about resource mobilisation as a continent, we need a structured approach through our financial institutions, including financial markets. If we can mobilise resources from a larger pool, including Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) and government partnerships with pension funds, these can be directed towards economic growth on our continent.

There’s still a gap in growing pensions because some country regulations differentiate between formal and informal sectors. Pensions mainly draw resources from the formal sector, but the informal sector seems to be growing at a faster rate. So, with the use of technology, which is a key issue, we need to mobilise these resources and increase awareness. We can tap into Africa’s youthful population as potential pension fund contributors and ensure this process through technology. We need to onboard them and ensure that the regulations and governance structures allow for resource mobilisation in the various countries.

It’s important for us to create an enabling environment for growing resources through pension funds and ensuring that governance structures and regulatory frameworks are in place.

How important is this conference from your perspective?

It’s very important. The world has been grappling with numerous issues resulting from COVID, which was an unprecedented event, and we’re all just trying to navigate through it. Some African countries are struggling with debt, others with inflation and foreign exchange issues. It’s an opportune time to bring people together. Going forward, it’s important for us to create an enabling environment for growing resources through pension funds and ensuring that governance structures and regulatory frameworks are in place. This will allow resource mobilisation, which can be directed towards challenges such as climate risks that we are facing as a continent. There’s a significant shift in respect to climate change, and we need to be aware of the risks and ensure incentives for those who choose to invest in these areas.

The conference, held in Mauritius, brands itself as ‘Talking about Africa in Africa”…

We’re glad to be in Mauritius. It has brought together people from different areas of Africa. We represent about 25 countries sharing different experiences, and we’ll take back home whatever we gain from here. I’d like to thank the organisers and the government of Mauritius for hosting this significant conference.