LAGOS — Nigeria’s Pension Industry Leadership Council (PILC) and UK-funded specialist agency FSD Africa have signed a technical agreement to establish a proposed $750 million infrastructure investment platform.
The partnership, announced in Lagos on Wednesday, aims to pool domestic capital from Nigerian Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) alongside development finance to fund critical energy, transport, and digital infrastructure projects across Nigeria and the wider region.
The initiative—developed with support from the National Pension Commission (PenCom)—has already secured preliminary interest from 19 Nigerian pension funds, highlighting strong local appetite to channel long-term institutional savings into domestic infrastructure development.
Capital structure and phased rollout
Under the agreement, FSD Africa will provide technical advisory services to help PILC competitively select a fund manager, engage Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), and support required regulatory frameworks.
The investment vehicle, named the Pension Industry Infrastructure Platform (PIIP), will target an initial capital mobilization of $350 million at its first close in 2027, before scaling to its final $750 million target.
- Domestic Capital Allocation: At full scale, the platform aims to mobilize $600 million from Nigerian pension funds and at least $150 million from DFIs.
- Investment Scope: At least 60 per cent of the portfolio will be directed toward Nigerian infrastructure projects, with the remainder available for select regional opportunities across Africa.
- Fund Mechanics: The platform will feature a core Naira-denominated investment fund, a co-investment vehicle for participating pension funds, and a parallel foreign-currency vehicle to accommodate international investors.
Closing the infrastructure gap
Highlighting the strategic value of the deal, UK Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos Jonny Baxter noted that both nations share a priority to attract domestic pension capital into real-economy assets to drive jobs and growth.
Director General of PenCom and Chair of PILC, Omolola Oloworaran, described the move as a landmark step for national savings:
“The pension industry holds the largest pool of long-term savings capital in the country, and we are committed to mobilizing it to deepen infrastructure development while safeguarding the retirement savings of contributors,” Oloworaran stated.
Mark Napier, CEO of FSD Africa, added that the vehicle addresses the historical paradox of African nations holding substantial institutional capital while facing acute infrastructure funding deficits.
An initial pipeline assessment identified 39 priority projects in Nigeria representing approximately $20 billion in potential investment needs, which the new platform aims to help bridge.
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