Key Takeaways
- • Former St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said Africa's pension funds, estimated at more than $2 trillion, have less than 1% invested within the continent.
- • The remarks were made during a panel at the Afreximbank Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) WKND 2026 in Lagos, where Gonsalves called for Global Africa to become an economic force rather than only a political and sociocultural identity.
- • The gap highlights untapped domestic institutional capital that could finance infrastructure, industrialisation and business lending across the continent.
- • Gonsalves argued that ties with the diaspora and the Caribbean should be built on practical investment rather than shared history and identity alone.
Summary
Former St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said Africa invests less than one percent of its pension fund assets, which he put at more than $2 trillion, within the continent. Speaking on a panel at the Afreximbank Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) WKND 2026 in Lagos, he said, "You have in Africa the pension funds in excess of two trillion dollars. But yes, less than one percent of those pension funds are invested in Africa." According to the article, the figure underscores the gap between available domestic capital and the financing needed to accelerate economic development on a continent still facing significant infrastructure, industrialisation and business financing gaps.
Gonsalves used the panel to call for stronger economic cooperation among Africa, the Caribbean and people of African descent worldwide. He argued that Global Africa must move beyond a political and sociocultural identity to become an economic force supported by investment and deeper financial integration. He said the continent had substantial financial resources that could be mobilised for its development but was not adequately deploying them within its own economies.
Pension funds are a potentially significant source of long-term financing given their investment horizons and capacity to support infrastructure, productive enterprises and other long-term assets. Gonsalves' remarks point to the need for African countries to build stronger investment connections across the continent and with the wider Global African community, directing more domestic financial resources toward productive economic activity.
Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo also spoke on the discussion, stressing the shared interests of Africans and people of African descent and calling for historical divisions to give way to unity around common prosperity. Participants also examined how improved cooperation, easier cross-border movement and opportunities for people of African descent to contribute to the continent could strengthen Africa's economic position.
Gonsalves used the panel to call for stronger economic cooperation among Africa, the Caribbean and people of African descent worldwide. He argued that Global Africa must move beyond a political and sociocultural identity to become an economic force supported by investment and deeper financial integration. He said the continent had substantial financial resources that could be mobilised for its development but was not adequately deploying them within its own economies.
Pension funds are a potentially significant source of long-term financing given their investment horizons and capacity to support infrastructure, productive enterprises and other long-term assets. Gonsalves' remarks point to the need for African countries to build stronger investment connections across the continent and with the wider Global African community, directing more domestic financial resources toward productive economic activity.
Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo also spoke on the discussion, stressing the shared interests of Africans and people of African descent and calling for historical divisions to give way to unity around common prosperity. Participants also examined how improved cooperation, easier cross-border movement and opportunities for people of African descent to contribute to the continent could strengthen Africa's economic position.
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