FSD Africa, PenOp partner to mobilise long-term financing

The Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) Africa Capital Markets has sealed a partnership with the Pension Fund Operators’ Association of Nigeria (PenOp) to strengthen economic sustainability through mobilisation of long-term capital for private sector financing.

The deal was consummated in Lagos at a conference theme, ‘Mobilising Patient Capital Via Innovative Financing Structures for Sustainable Development.

For FSD, as the largest economy in Africa, Nigeria has displayed resilience and substantial growth despite the negative impact posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and other macroeconomic constraints.

However, It noted that sustaining its growth momentum and promoting economic development requires innovative financing solutions and the attraction of climate-smart private investments.

The event brought together influential stakeholders across the financial sector of the economy to deliberate the potential of sustainable domestic capital in financing the economy.

Director, Capital Markets, FSD Africa, Dr Evans Osano, said that the company’s representatives were in Nigeria to collaborate with their partner to see economic opportunities that could help the country to overcome its immediate climate challenges.

He said there were many investments in the financial sector of the economy, including banking, capital market, pension industry, insurance and capital market needed to address the country’s climate change challenges for faster economic growth.

Speaking also at the conference, the Chief Executive Officer of PenOp, Oguche Agudah, said Nigeria has the world’s largest number of poor people and out-of-school children and that inclusive growth is required to make the needed change.

Agudah also identified the lack of access to energy as one of Nigeria’s challenges that need to be addressed.

According to him, the country has a high level of rural-urban migration just as millions leave the country in search of greener pastures.