BAFI Awards: Leadway PFA Clinches Pension Company of the Year

By LOVETH-AZODO CHIKIOKE, Lagos

Leadway PFA has emerged as the ‘Pension Company of the Year’ at the 14th edition of the prestigious BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards 2026, in recognition of its operational scale, robust investment performance, and innovative approach to pension asset management.

The annual BAFI Awards spotlight institutions driving benchmark excellence, corporate governance, and sustainable innovation across Nigeria’s financial services architecture. In the pension category, the award assesses administrators on key metrics spanning investment yields, contributor acquisition, technological adoption, customer service delivery, and seamless retirement benefit accessibility.

The recognition comes on the heels of the successful consolidation and integration between Leadway Pensure and PAL Pensions, which birthed the unified entity, Leadway PFA.

Following the business combination, the administrator now oversees an asset base exceeding N3 trillion on behalf of over 1.2 million Retirement Savings Account (RSA) holders nationwide, positioning it as one of the most capitalized and systemically significant players in the nation’s contributory pension ecosystem.

Reacting to the conferment, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Leadway PFA, Mr. Olusakin Labeodan, described the accolade as a validation of the firm’s fiduciary discipline, corporate governance, and deliberate technological modernization.

“Being named PFA of the Year at the 2026 BusinessDay BAFI Awards is an exemplary recognition of Leadway PFA’s expertise, governance, and the innovations we bring to pension administration,” Labeodan said. “It reflects our work in investment management, customer service, and developing pension solutions that meet Nigerians’ evolving retirement needs.”

He noted that over the past two decades, the brand has developed institutional resilience geared toward de-risking long-term retirement savings and delivering real value to contributors amid macroeconomic shifts.

“Over the past two decades, we have built our capabilities around helping individuals prepare for retirement, and we are grateful to our contributors for the trust they place in us. We are proud of what our team has achieved and see this award as an opportunity to build on that record, raise our standards further, and deliver greater value to our contributors throughout their retirement journey,” the CEO added.

Industry observers note that the company’s recent trajectory reflects a wider industry pivot toward digital onboarding, self-service portals, and automated benefits processing. Leadway PFA has continued to deploy digital pension tools to simplify fund tracking, voluntary contributions, and retirement advisory services for both formal and informal sector participants.

The latest honour adds to the firm’s growing shelf of industry accolades. In 2025, Leadway PFA secured a Gold Award for Customer Service Excellence at the West Africa Innovation Awards for the third consecutive year, alongside winning the West Africa Pension & Lifestyle Company of the Year title.