Stefanus Nashama
The Retirement Funds Institute of Namibia (RFIN) yesterday launched its 16th annual conference edition under the theme “Towards a Relevant, Resilient and Resourced Future – Putting the ‘R’ Back into Savings”.
Speaking during the launch, the company Vice-Chairperson Sabrina Jacobs, said this year’s conference holds a special significance as RFIN delves into a theme that resonates deeply with the challenges and opportunities of its time.
According to Jacobs, the conference will take place on the 21 and 22 September 2023, at Droombos in the capital.
She indicated that the conference will be attended by registered delegates and delegates who have registered thus far are from Namibia, Botswana and South Africa.
“The RFIN conference seeks to ensure that retirement funds remain relevant, resilient to the storms of life, and have the resources to ensure members enjoy the best outcomes at retirement or on prior death or disability.
RFIN is a non-profit company and a key industry representative that runs the promotion of the retirement industry in Namibia. The Institute relies on the generosity of stakeholders to host an event of this nature and welcome any sponsorship on offer,” she said.
Jacobs used the opportunity to invite all pension fund members, trustees, principal officers and service providers to attend the conference.
She informed the audience that Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA) Commissioner, Sam Shivute will be the keynote speaker on the first day of the conference.
“NamRA is a key stakeholder in retirement funds, we eagerly anticipate Mr Shivute’s insights into putting the R Back into Savings,” Jacobs said.
According to her, the first topic to be discussed on day one of the conference is “Harvesting Investment Opportunities in Africa” which will be led by John Oliphant, Executive Chairman of Third Way Asset Management Group.
The second topic of day one will look at how RFIN can best address the social aspect of Environmental, Social, and Governance investing within the parameters of the current Regulation 13 of the Pension Fund Act which prescribes the types of investments retirement funds are allowed to hold.
Jacobs also indicated that the Manager of Listed Investment at Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF), Leevi Tshoopara is among the delegates to attend the conference to provide insight into the GIPF Incubation Program case study.
On day two of the conference, Jacobs said Erna Motinga from the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (NAMFISA) will brief the audience about the regulation of Fintech.
Fintech Square seeks to promote digital innovation to drive financial inclusion and ensures efficiency and sustainability in delivering the NAMFISA mandate.
She said, there will be panel discussions on breaking generational poverty, and a discussion on optimising fund objectives in a digital age will examine harnessing digital technologies in service of RFIN members.
