By Chiamaka Ajeamo
Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp) has said it is collaborating with the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (AVCA) to empower local investors and develop private equity as an asset class in Nigeria.
PenOp stated this in a statement noting that, the domestic capital played a vital role in accelerating economic growth in Nigeria and across the continent in general.
It added that over the past five to 10 years, the value of Nigerian pension funds had grown markedly to peak at over $25 billion in December 2020, of which 0.03 per cent had been allocated to private equity.
Speaking about the partnership, the Chief Executive Officer, PenOp, Oguche Agudah said, “Pension funds operators realised that they need to diversify into alternative investments and private equity presents one of such opportunities. However, we haven’t seen that much uptake of this locally. In addition to other initiatives we are pursuing, we are hoping that this partnership with AVCA will help to further open up this space.
“The partnership between PenOp and AVCA will focus on training and networking, including an introduction to development finance institutions, fund managers and other stakeholders within the global private equity ecosystem, to ensure the growth of private equity in Nigeria, especially for pension operators,” Oguche said.