Greater collaboration with pension funds could provide the long-term capital needed to accelerate infrastructure development across Africa, Stanbic Bank Tanzania Chief Executive Officer Manzi Rwegasira has said.
Speaking at a high-level forum in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday, August 5, 2026 Rwegasira said commercial banks are well placed to finance the early stages of infrastructure projects, but their funding is largely sourced from short-term customer deposits, making it unsuitable for long-term investments such as roads, bridges and energy projects.
The forum brought together senior government officials, financial sector leaders and business executives to discuss innovative financing solutions under the theme, "Reinvesting for Expansion: Recycling as a Catalyst for Growth."
Rwegasira said pension funds, with their long-term investment horizon, are better suited to finance major infrastructure projects once they have been initiated by commercial banks.
"Banks can finance the initial stages of projects before bringing in pension funds, which have the capacity to invest over the long term because of the nature of their capital," he said.
He added that Africa must reduce its reliance on new borrowing to finance infrastructure and instead maximise the value of existing public assets.
Rwegasira said the asset recycling model offers a practical solution by using revenue-generating infrastructure such as ports, roads and bridges to attract private investment and unlock capital for new development projects.
"Rather than relying on new loans every time, Africa should use its existing assets to generate additional financing for future infrastructure investment," he said.
