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UK-funded development agency FSD Africa has partnered with Nigeria’s Pension Industry Leadership Council (PILC) to develop a proposed $750 million infrastructure investment fund aimed at mobilising domestic pension assets for projects across Nigeria and selected African markets.
According to a statement released on Tuesday by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the partnership would provide technical and advisory support for the establishment of the proposed Pension Industry Infrastructure Platform (PIIP).
The initiative has already attracted interest from 19 Nigerian pension funds, highlighting growing appetite among institutional investors to channel long-term retirement savings into infrastructure development.
The proposed fund will target investments in critical sectors, including energy, transport and digital infrastructure, with the objective of addressing funding gaps and supporting economic growth.
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Fund targets $350 million first close in 2027
The PIIP is targeting an initial capital mobilisation of $350 million at its first close, expected in 2027, before scaling up to its ultimate target of $750 million.
At full capacity, the platform aims to raise approximately $600 million from Nigerian pension funds and at least $150 million from development finance institutions (DFIs).
Under the agreement, FSD Africa will provide PILC with technical expertise and advisory support to establish the investment platform.
This will include supporting the selection of a fund manager through a competitive process, engaging prospective investors and development finance institutions, building institutional capacity and facilitating necessary regulatory reforms.
The platform is being developed by Nigerian Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), with support from the National Pension Commission (PenCom) and FSD Africa.
39 infrastructure projects identified
An initial assessment of Nigeria’s infrastructure pipeline has identified 39 projects with potential investment relevance to the proposed fund, representing approximately $20 billion in financing requirements.
The platform will invest through equity and quasi-equity instruments, with at least 60% of its portfolio earmarked for projects in Nigeria. The remaining allocation will be available for selected investments across the region.
Its proposed structure will comprise a naira-denominated core investment fund and a separate co-investment vehicle through which participating pension funds can invest alongside the main fund in selected projects.
A parallel foreign-currency vehicle may also be established to accommodate international investors.
The structure is designed to provide pension funds with access to professionally managed, long-term investment opportunities while connecting infrastructure projects with institutional capital.
PenCom says fund will unlock pension assets for infrastructure
Chair of PILC and Director-General of PenCom, Omolola Oloworaran, said the proposed platform comes at an important time for Nigeria’s infrastructure financing needs.
She said the pension industry controls the country’s largest pool of long-term savings capital and is committed to deploying more of these assets towards infrastructure development while protecting contributors’ retirement savings.
- “The pension industry holds the largest pool of long-term savings capital in the country, and we are committed to mobilising it to deepen infrastructure development, while safeguarding the retirement savings of contributors.
- “This MoU is the first step we are taking as an industry, and it is just the beginning,” Oloworaran said.
FSD Africa Chief Executive Officer, Mark Napier, described the proposed investment structure as an opportunity to address the funding gap between Africa’s available institutional capital and its infrastructure financing requirements.
He said the agency was keen to work with PenCom and Nigeria’s pension industry to unlock more of the capital under their management for priority infrastructure projects.
Jonny Baxter, UK Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, said the partnership reflects the shared interest of Nigeria and the UK in attracting more domestic investment, particularly pension capital, into the real economy.
He said the initiative could help translate the ambition into investments, employment opportunities and economic growth.
UK expands investments in Nigeria
The FSD Africa investments come as the latest in the series of UK-backed investments in Nigeria.
- Nairametrics previously reported that the UK government had committed $335,000 to establish the RiTA Investment Network, a platform intended to channel more domestic investment into women-led businesses in Nigeria.
- The initiative forms part of broader efforts to improve access to capital for businesses that face funding constraints.
Most recently, the UK’s development finance institution, British International Investment (BII), announced plans to invest about £2.25 billion ($3 billion) in Africa’s frontier markets and least-developed countries over the next five years, targeting economies that struggle to attract funding from major institutional investors.
