LeapFrog invests in Petra Trust ... seizes on dramatic growth of pension market

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.

The landmark investment seeks to take advantage of the expected 400% growth in Ghana’s retirement industry funds over the next four years, and marks LeapFrog’s entry into the African pensions sector.

Doug Lacey, who leads LeapFrog’s Ghanaian investments, said: “We are very excited about the investment possibilities that Ghana presents and the enormous growth potential of the country, in particular the pensions and insurance sectors. Petra Trust is a dynamic and fast-growing company with a uniquely experienced leadership team.

“They have a strong set of existing clients, with plans to serve a local market of 20 million consumers in the informal and semi-formal sectors, which account for some 90 percent of Ghanaian employees. We look forward to providing support both on the board and operationally to enable Petra’s growth, profitability and impact in Ghana.”

Kofi Fynn, Petra’s Managing Director, said: “We are delighted to have LeapFrog as an investor. Their team offers strong pensions experience, decades of knowledge of our market and others in Africa, and a global perspective. With this injection of capital and expertise, Petra will be able to invest in expanding infrastructure to better serve existing clients and grow our market reach, while boosting Ghana’s pension industry. Pension reform was introduced to ensure that the previously unserved will also have a chance to invest for their future, and that is exactly the service we have been called to provide. We see the pensions industry growing fast in Africa, and are very excited about growth of the micro-pension sector.”
 
Doug Lacey added: “LeapFrog’s focus is on the emerging consumer -- investing in companies that profitably provide financial safety nets and springboards to people who until now have had no or little access to these products. Petra’s pension offerings will bring peace of mind and financial security to many people in Ghana, and serve as an inspiration to leaders in other swiftly-growing markets in Africa.”
 
LeapFrog Investments is a specialist investor in emerging markets’ financial services, seizing the growth opportunity presented by two billion emerging consumers in Africa and Asia. Its portfolio companies currently provide insurance, savings and pension products to over 18 million people in countries such as India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.

Petra Trust is one of the top-three trustees in the pensions industry by assets in trust, and the most recognised independent trustee company in Ghana. The company is led by investment practitioners with decades of asset management and finance experience in the US and West Africa.

Its co-founders, Kofi Fynn and Chris Hammond, as well as Head of Operations Helena Poku returned to Ghana from the United States to participate in the country’s dramatic growth opportunities. Following the introduction of new pension regulations in 2008, the team has rapidly built one of Ghana’s largest pension trustees.

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