Ghana pension funds far short of 5% private capital target

Ghana's pension funds hold less than 1 per cent of their assets in alternative investments, well short of a 5 per cent private capital target for 2026, investors said on 8 October. The figure was presented at the online launch of Domestic Capital Africa, a campaign led by Impact Investing Ghana, the Africa Impact Investing Group, the Ghana Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (GVCA), the Growth Firms Alliance and regional partners. The campaign seeks to direct more of Africa's savings, which organisers put at more than US$600 billion in pension assets across the continent, into African businesses.

The gap is notable because Ghana's regulatory framework already permits considerably more. National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) guidelines allow schemes to hold up to 25 per cent of assets in alternatives. A May 2025 directive urged pension funds and insurers to commit at least 5 per cent to private equity and venture capital by 2026, and with fewer than three months of the year remaining, the industry remains well below that mark. The NPRA reported that assets under the three-tier pension scheme rose 22.6 per cent to GH¢108.88 billion at end-2025, from GH¢88.80 billion a year earlier. Most of these assets are in government paper; according to data compiled by the African Private Capital Association, 72.9 per cent of Ghanaian pension assets were in Government of Ghana securities at end-2024, up from 64 per cent in 2020. That concentration has already carried costs, as the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme restructured GH¢31 billion of pension holdings.

Speakers argued that trustees need investable structures rather than capital alone. Amma Gyampo, Chief Executive Officer of the GVCA, said Africa cannot address issues such as youth unemployment while most retirement savings remain in sovereign debt, and that the next step is risk-sharing arrangements and structures that meet trustee requirements. Pension funds say they are ready to invest but want to see risk structures and specific deals first, she said. Esther Ndeti, Vice-Chair of the Africa Impact Investing Group, said market infrastructure, investment vehicles, aligned policy and trust must come together. Data presented at the launch estimated Africa's SME funding gap at US$331 billion; SMEs account for 92 per cent of businesses on the continent, 80 per cent of jobs and 70 per cent of output. Kwabena Boamah, Board Chair of Impact Investing Ghana, described the campaign as a call to action for asset owners, fund managers, entrepreneurs, regulators and development partners.

Speakers cited the Ci Gaba Fund of Funds as evidence the model can work. The cedi-denominated vehicle reached a first close of GH¢383 million (about US$35 million at the time) in March 2026, with Ghanaian pension funds making up more than two-thirds of early commitments. Ci Gaba aims for GH¢1 billion and is described by its backers as the first private fund of funds domiciled in West Africa. It invests via private equity, venture capital and private debt funds backing SMEs in Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire. Anchor investors include Stanbic Investment Management, Enterprise Trustees, Axis Pension Trust, FSD Africa Investments and the Small Foundation. Hamdiya Ismaila, Chief Executive Officer of Ci Gaba Venture Capital Limited and founder of Savannah Impact Advisory, which manages the fund, said the structure was built around what pension funds said they needed, and that investor confidence will rest on managing money well and delivering returns. Speakers called for regulatory flexibility, catalytic funding and technical support to replicate the model in other African markets, and the NPRA has said it is reviewing its investment guidelines to channel more pension money into infrastructure and SME financing.