Obasanjo, Rewane lead talks at 3rd World Pension Summit ‘Africa Special’

Former Presdent Olusegun Obasanjo and Bismarck Rewane, CEO, Financial Derivatives are leading talks at the 3rd edition of the World Pension Summit ‘Africa Special’ holding on Tuesday in Abuja.

The summit aims to attract investments into the nation’s pension industry and provides a platform for experts to exchange knowledge on the investment of Nigeria’s N5.7 trillion assets. Experts have canvassed that the pension funds should be invested in real estate and infrastructure development.

It would also provide opportunity for local and foreign investors within and outside Africa to network and proffer common solutions to Nigeria and Africa investment needs.

“It will be a very fertile ground for the Federal Government to sell Nigeria to investors,” an Abuja-based investment analyst told BusinessDay.

To lead the discussions at the two days summit holding on Tuesday and Wednesday, at the prestigious Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, an array of speakers drawn from various areas of pension and pension-related fields and from home and abroad have been invited to deliver well-researched papers that would speak to the needs of Nigeria and other African Countries.

According to Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, PenCom director general, in order to consolidate the gains of the two previous summits held in 2014 and 2015, a plenary session, tagged ‘Regional Reports: Revolutionary Strides in Pension by African Countries” would provide details of what have been achieved by African countries following experts’ recommendations during past summits.

A plenary on “Emerging Insurer Role”, she added, would be dedicated to address the challenges of the roles of insurance and how to deliver long-term retirement outcomes.

Another plenary on “The Dynamics of Pension Investments” would brainstorm on the pension investments in alternative asset classes.

While a plenary on “Financial Inclusion” had been designed to proffer ways to efficiently and effectively design financial literacy programmes and share experience on Micro Pension design and policy implementation, another would speak to “Pension Distribution: The Impact of Technology”.

According to Anohu-Amazu, the World Pension Summit, would for the first time, feature discussions on the topic “Actuarial Issues and their Impact on Pension Benefits”.

As expected, this year’s Summit would also feature the Africa Pension Awards (APA), which was introduced during the second edition to recognize excellence, achievement and commitment to the development and strengthening of the African pension administration with particular bias for the contributory pension scheme, among African countries.

Among them are Olusegun Obasanjo, retired army General and a onetime Military Head of State and former president  of Nigeria; Bismarck Rewane, CEO, Financial Derivatives; Modupe Ladipo,Director, Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access | London;  P. K. Kuriachen , Acting Chief Executive of the FSC Mauritius; Catherine Duggan, Professor of Management and Political Economy and Vice Dean for Strategy and Research at the African Leadership University (ALU), Rwanda; Laura Llewellyn-Jones, Independent Actuarial Consultant, PenCom, Abuja; Anohu-Amazu, Director General, PenCom; Sundeep Raichura, Chief Executive Officer Alexander Forbes Kenya; Mary Delahunty, General Manager – Business Development Health Employees Superannuation Trust Australia (HESTA); Chris Battaglia, CEO WorldPensionSummit & Vice President / Group publisher of Pensions & Investments (P&I).

Others are Harry Smorenberg , CEO Smorenberg Corporate Consultancy |founder Worldpensionsummit & member of the P&I Advisory Board; CEO Eggink Van Manen, founder, Worldpensionsummit; Ibrahim Muhanna, Managing Director Muhanna & Co | Chairman Board of Trustees Muhanna Foundation; Sev Vettivetpillai, Partner and Global Head of Thematic Fund Businesses at The Abraaj Group | Dubai; Parminder Vir, Chief Executive Officer Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF); Toro Orero, Managing Partner, DraperDarkFlow | San Mateo; Reginald N. France, Managing Director of Boulders Advisors Limited (BAL);  Walé Adeosun,  founder, CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Kuramo Capital Management;  Ese Stephen Owie, Director & CEO, Centre for International Trade & Policy (CITaP); William Streeter, Senior Infrastructure Advisor | New York City; Wole Famurewa, Markets Editor, West Africa at CNBC Africa and Renata De Leers, CEO ACB Consulting; Richard Dowden, Director of the Royal African Society | London