The Chief Executive Officer of the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA), Christopher Boadi-Mensah, has called for a strategic rethinking of the country’s pension investment approach, urging greater adoption of alternative investments to diversify risk and spur national development.
Speaking at the 5th edition of The Money Summit in Accra, Mr. Boadi-Mensah said the growing value of pension assets – which now exceed GH¢90billion (approximately US$6billion) – can be deployed prudently but innovatively to ensure long-term security for retirees and stimulate economic transformation.
“Our primary obligation is to protect these savings, grow them prudently and ensure their availability in retirement,” the NPRA CEO stated.
“But the traditional investment landscape, largely dominated by government securities, is nearing its limits.”
He argued that while government instruments are safe, they often yield limited real returns – especially amid inflationary pressures and economic uncertainty.
This, he said, necessitates a pivot toward alternative investments – a category that includes infrastructure, real estate, venture capital, green financing and social impact instruments.
“These asset classes offer an opportunity to diversify pension portfolios, manage long-term risks and align investments with Ghana’s national development priorities,” he added.
The case for alternative investments
According to Mr. Boadi-Mensah, alternative investments can unlock transformative benefits for the economy. These benefits, he explained, include long-term infrastructure financing: “Pension funds are by nature long-term. They are ideal for financing infrastructure – roads, renewable energy, rail and housing,” he said.
Similarly, they could be conducive to domestic economic growth: by investing in venture capital and private equity, pension funds could fuel the growth of local businesses – especially in tech, agribusiness and manufacturing.
Another area is risk diversification: “Overexposure to one asset class – especially government securities – increases systemic risk. Alternatives offer a counterbalance,” he added.
He further urged stakeholders to embrace environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing, saying: “Ghana must be part of the global movement financing green and socially responsible growth”.
Collective action
To make this shift viable, the NPRA is revising its investment guidelines and regulatory framework to open space for high-quality alternative assets – without compromising on safety or transparency.
“We are creating a regulatory environment defined by sound risk management and ethical investment practices,” the NPRA boss affirmed. “Access to pension funds must be governed with prudence and discipline.”
Leveraging Technology for Transparency
Mr. Boadi-Mensah also highlighted NPRA’s ongoing digital transformation, noting that technology and data analytics are central to building a modern, inclusive pension system.
Key initiatives include:
The Pensions Digital Ecosystem (PDE) — a seamless digital infrastructure integrating Ghana Card IDs, mobile money and contribution tracking.
A dedicated informal sector payment platform — designed to enable flexible contributions and real-time account updates for informal workers.
Risk-Based Supervision (RBS) — a new regulatory approach focused on proactive, data-driven oversight to ensure market stability.
“With these tools, we can forecast retirement needs with greater accuracy and design resilient, forward-looking policies,” he explained.
Rising to the challenge
Mr. Boadi-Mensah closed his address with a rallying call: “The question before us is not whether we can achieve sustainable retirement income and economic growth. It is whether we can summon the leadership, innovation and discipline required to do so”.
He reaffirmed NPRA’s commitment to building a “resilient, inclusive and future-ready pension system that delivers not just for today but also generations to come.”
The Money Summit is an annual event by the Business and Financial Times (B&FT) that convenes key players in the finance and investment sectors. It was themed ‘Optimising investment and pensions management: Strategies for sustainable retirement income and economic growth’.
