The National Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA) and Airtel Zambia are exploring opportunities for collaboration aimed at improving customer experience and expanding access to pension and savings services through digital platforms.

This came to light during a courtesy call by Airtel Zambia Managing Director Hussam Baday and his management team on NAPSA Chief Executive Officer Muyangwa Muyangwa and members of the Authority’s Executive Management Committee.

The discussions centred on leveraging Airtel’s digital infrastructure, mobile money platform and extensive agent network to make NAPSA services more accessible, convenient and responsive to the needs of members and the wider public.

A key area of focus was the potential to extend pension coverage to people working in the informal sector, who make up a significant proportion of the population but are not necessarily covered by traditional employment-based pension arrangements.

Mr Baday highlighted Airtel’s extensive reach through its mobile money customer base and agent network, noting the opportunity to use these existing channels to bring financial and social protection services closer to more people. He also emphasised the importance of integrating services for seamless customer experience.

Speaking during the meeting, Mr Muyangwa underscored the importance of extending pension coverage beyond the formal sector, noting that NAPSA must leverage existing digital ecosystems to make social protection more accessible to a wider population.

He explained that the Authority was keen to work with established service providers such as Airtel to develop simple and convenient solutions that would encourage more people to save towards their retirement. Rather than creating entirely new platforms, 

“NAPSA sees value in integrating its services into channels that people already use in their everyday lives,” he said.

Mr Muyangwa further highlighted the importance of trust, security and good governance in encouraging voluntary participation in pension savings, particularly among people who may not be familiar with formal pension arrangements.

The two institutions have since agreed to set up a working committee to actualize the partnership within a specified timeline. 

Through this collaboration, NAPSA and Airtel see an opportunity to combine their respective strengths in service delivery, technology and customer reach to contribute to a more inclusive social protection system and national development.