NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

LeapFrog Investments, the specialist investor in financial services in Africa and Asia, has taken a stake in one of Ghana’s largest pension trustee companies, Petra Trust. Africa’s pensions industry is one of the fastest growing in the world, and Ghana’s retirement industry is set to expand by up to 400% in the next four years [1], following liberalization of the pensions market. Much of this growth is likely to be propelled by the rapid expansion of Africa’s emerging consumer sector, as more households begin to rise into the middle class.

Doug Lacey, the partner who leads LeapFrog’s Ghanaian investments, said, “Petra Trust is a dynamic and fast-growing company, with a uniquely experienced leadership team. They have a strong set of existing clients, and plans to serve a local market of 20 million consumers in the informal and semi-formal sectors, which account for some 90% of Ghanaian employees. We look forward to providing support both on the board and operationally to further accelerate Petra’s growth, profitability and impact.”