By Hima Niilonga Amukwiyu
The Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF) is Namibia’s epic success story that is yet to be told.
Established in 1989, its primary mandate is to provide pension and related benefits to civil servants and employees of participating employers in Namibia.
Its primary value proposition is that it provides Defined Benefits to its members. The terminology Defined Benefits in pension fund industry refers to assurance or guarantee that members will receive a predictable amount regardless of what happen in the financial markets. In short, a member’s retirement benefits are defined and pre-determined when he joins the pension scheme.
With over 99 000 active members and an impressive asset base of N$ 193 billion as of August 2025, GIPF is the biggest capital pool and leading institutional investor in Namibia. Of all the pension funds in the country, the GIPF has majority of the assets, representing over 70% of total pension assets. Its assets under management have grown by an envious 206% over the past 12 years, thanks to their investment strategy that balances risk and return. Furthermore, the Fund is one of the few fully funded pension funds in Africa with sufficient assets to cover its liabilities.
Their 2024 integrated report shows that for the period between 2020 & 2024, GIPF received an amount of N$ 4.8 billion in contributions and paid out N$ 6.3 billion in benefits. During the same period, the fund’s assets grew between 3% & 25%. This goes to show that the growth over the period was as result of return on investments. Dear reader, at this junction I want you to pause and reflect on the above numbers, to Selah!!
The report indicates that a striking 48% of the Funds’ assets is invested locally, with the other 52% invested outside Namibia – led by international investments of 28%, then followed by South Africa with 14% and the remaining 10% spread between emerging markets, Africa (ex-SA & Nam) and China.
In the past, due to our small and undiversified economy, pension fund, an industry that holds majority of the country’s savings have not invested a large percentage of their assets in Namibia. However, the growth in assets together with change in regulatory requirements have compelled pension funds to have not less than 45% of their asset invested in Namibia with NAMFISA’s regulation 13 of Pension funds which aims to address capital flight.
The same regulation also speaks to diversification. It requires Pension Funds to invest between 1.7% – 3.5% of their assets in unlisted investments. This opened up an opportunity for developmental investments. Over the past 11 years, GIPF has invested N$ 6.5 billion in unlisted investments. There was a debate & criticism that came as a result of these mandates. Criticisms that stem from lack of understanding of the investment’s world in my opinion.
At the heart of unlisted investments is impact investment – investments that aim to generate both financial returns and positive social impact. GIPF exists to secure the future of their members. One of the ways of fulfilling this mandate is through investing the contributions in viable projects in the local economy via housing, agriculture, infrastructure, education, SMEs financing, healthcare etc. Through these investments, the Fund has supported government developmental goals while generating returns for its members. The fund has not just fulfilled their legal & regulatory compliance requirements; they have fulfilled a societal responsibility. The social returns that came as a result of these unlisted investments are vast – job creation, improvement of quality of life, economic growth, skills development, environmental preservation, healthcare and well-being, etc.
In recent years, social media has become the mainstay of Namibians who don’t make time to familiarise themselves with the financial markets and business world. As a result, some of the negative criticism toward organisations are misplaced.
As with every organisation, GIPF has its own fair share of challenges. However, its success is one that every Namibian, not only its members should be proud of.
May GIPF continue to grow and thrive – for its members, for Namibia!!
Hima Niilonga Amukwiyu is a Credit, Risk & Compliance Professional. She writes in her free time and can be reached at: shatiamukwiyu@gmail.com
