African Life Financial Services

What African Life Financial Services does

African Life Financial Services Zambia Limited (Aflife) is a privately-held investment and wealth management firm headquartered in Lusaka, Zambia, founded in 1992 following the liberalization of the Zambian financial sector. The company operates as Zambia's largest private investment manager, managing the largest pool of pension fund assets outside of the National Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA), and is dual-licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Pensions and Insurance Authority (PIA). Its product suite is structured around the Mpile Unit Trust, an umbrella collective investment scheme comprising specialized sub-funds — Balanced, High Yield Debt, Local Equity, Money Market, Offshore Equity, Property, and Gratuity — offering exposure across Zambian and offshore equities, fixed income, money market instruments, and real estate.

Aflife serves two primary segments: individual retail investors (entry-level minimum ZMW 500 investment, 6-month minimum holding) and institutional clients including pension funds, insurance companies, endowments, religious bodies, and corporates across banking, mining, agro-processing, insurance, and hospitality sectors. It also manages the Apex Retirement Fund targeting self-employed professionals and high-net-worth individuals. Distribution is direct, via downloadable application forms, bank transfers, and over-the-counter deposits at Stanbic branches, supported by a small team of 11-50 employees led by CEO Jonathan Imakando and CIO Mweemba Valarie Mwinga.

The revenue model is asset-based: Aflife charges an annual management fee of 1.5% of total NAV, plus trustee (0.15%), custodian (0.17%), and audit/CIS levy (0.125%) charges, payable from fund assets. Marketing is conducted through LinkedIn, Facebook, website content, and direct client engagement. The company is privately held with no disclosed parent, institutional shareholders, or external funding; ownership structure is not publicly available.

Name

African Life Financial Services

Legal name

African Life Financial Services Zambia Limited

Website

https://aflife.co.zm

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

African Life Financial Services is Zambia's largest private investment manager, operating since 1992 and managing the largest pool of pension fund assets outside of NAPSA. It offers pooled Mpile Unit Trust funds and segregated mandates to retail and institutional clients across Zambia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Investment Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Managed Platforms & Wrap Programs for Private Clients (Model Portfolios, UMA/SMAs) (FSAAABAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Private Banking Advisory & Discretionary Portfolio Management (FSABADAD), Investor Education, Research & Portfolio Analytics Services (Retail) (FSAAAAAO)

Keywords

• Investment management services
• Unit trust funds
• Wealth management solutions
• Pension fund management
• Asset management

Headquarters

HQ city

Lusaka

HQ country

Zambia

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Investment Management Fees: Aflife generates revenue primarily through annual management fees charged as a percentage of total assets under management (NAV). Additional fee streams include trustee fees, custodian fees, audit fees, and CIS levy charges.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

African Life Financial Services (Aflife) is a Zambian private investment manager that operates the Mpile Unit Trust, a collective investment scheme pooling investor money into multiple specialized funds covering equities, fixed income/debt, money market, property, offshore equities, and gratuity. Beyond pooled funds, the firm provides segregated investment management services for institutional clients (pension funds, insurance companies, religious bodies, endowments) and manages the Apex Retirement Fund for self-employed and high net worth individuals.

Product overview

African Life Financial Services (Aflife) offers a unified suite of investment products under the Mpile Unit Trust umbrella, which is a collective investment scheme. The core product is the Mpile Unit Trust, divided into multiple specialized funds: Mpile Balanced Fund, Mpile High Yield Debt Fund, Mpile Local Equity Fund, Mpile Money Market Fund, Mpile Offshore Equity Fund, Mpile Property Fund, and Mpile Gratuity Fund. In addition to pooled fund management, Aflife provides segregated investment management services for institutional clients including pension funds, insurance companies, and endowment/religious bodies. The company also manages the Apex Retirement Fund for self-employed and high net worth individuals. All products are designed for long-term wealth creation with different risk-return profiles to meet diverse investor needs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Mpile Balanced Fund: A fund that aims to achieve capital appreciation in the long term by investing on the Zambia Capital Market with minority exposures to some offshore markets.
• Mpile High Yield Debt Fund
• Mpile Local Equity Fund
• Mpile Money Market Fund
• Mpile Unit Trust
• Mpile Offshore Equity Fund
• Mpile Property Fund
• Mpile Gratuity Fund
• Mpile Umbrella Unit Trust

Products and services

• Mpile Balanced Fund A unit trust fund that aims to achieve capital appreciation in the long term by investing on the Zambia Capital Market with minority exposures to some offshore markets. Aimed at individual investors seeking long-term growth through diversified capital market exposure.
• Mpile High Yield Debt Fund A fund that aims to achieve returns through capital appreciation and generation of income in the long term by investing in debt instruments primarily from the Zambia Capital Market, including corporate and government debt. Targeted at investors seeking income generation and capital appreciation through fixed income.
• Mpile Local Equity Fund A fund that aims to achieve capital appreciation in the long term by investing primarily on the Zambia Capital Market. Designed for investors seeking long-term growth through exposure to Zambian equities.
• Mpile Money Market Fund A fund that aims to achieve capital preservation and income yield in the long term by investing primarily on the Zambian Capital markets. Targeted at investors prioritizing capital preservation and liquidity.
• Mpile Offshore Equity Fund An investment fund providing exposure to offshore equity markets for diversification purposes, complementing local Zambian equity exposure.
• Mpile Property Fund A real estate investment fund with a minimum holding period of 1 year before exit, focused on property development and property-related investments in Zambia.
• Mpile Gratuity Fund A fund designed for gratuity payments, managed as part of the Mpile Unit Trust scheme for organizations and individuals seeking structured gratuity provision.
• Mpile Unit Trust An umbrella unit trust collective investment scheme that pools investor money together, divided into units of equal value, offering diversified investments in local and offshore equities, property, money market securities, and government and corporate bonds. Open to individual retail and institutional investors.
• Investment Management Services Comprehensive investment management services for institutional clients including fund profile review, long-term investment strategy setup, strategy implementation, investment execution, trustee communication, and achievement of long-term security for retirement fund members. Includes both segregated mandates and pooled mandate options.
• Apex Retirement Fund Management Management of a retirement fund for self-employed, high net worth, or professional individuals, with objectives including capital preservation, capital appreciation, liquidity, investment returns, risk diversification, and appropriate asset-to-liability matching.

Quantifiable outcome

• Applications reviewed within 48 hours
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Madison Financial Services: Zambian financial services group offering insurance, asset management and advisory products, directly competing with Aflife in domestic retail and institutional wealth management.

Broad incumbents

• Sanlam Investments: Pan-African asset manager with institutional and retail fund offerings across multiple African markets; operates broader scale and product range than Aflife but overlaps in unit trust and institutional mandates.
• Old Mutual Investment Group: Africa-focused investment manager providing multi-asset solutions to institutional and retail clients, with pension fund management capabilities directly comparable to Aflife's institutional franchise.
• Stanlib: South African investment manager with multi-asset and single-asset unit trusts serving both retail and institutional clients, competing with Aflife in the African unit trust space.
• Investec Asset Management: Global investment manager with strong African institutional and retail book, including multi-asset solutions that overlap with Aflife's balanced, equity and fixed income offerings.
• FirstRand Investment Management: Large South African investment manager within the FirstRand group, providing multi-asset and single-asset institutional and retail products with regional scale Aflife lacks.

Regional players

• Coronation Fund Managers: Independent African asset manager offering unit trusts, institutional mandates and offshore products, with comparable product architecture to Aflife's Mpile Unit Trust.
• Allan Gray: Investment management firm offering multi-asset unit trusts and institutional portfolios across Africa, comparable to Aflife in long-term, fundamentals-driven fund management approach.
• African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM): Pan-African alternative and long-term investment manager, comparable to Aflife in serving institutional investors in Africa with multi-asset and development-aligned strategies.
• Momentum Investments: South African investment manager providing unit trust, institutional and multi-manager solutions, overlapping with Aflife in retail balanced funds and pension fund management.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/AflifeZambia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/african-life-financial-services
• Xx.com/aflifezambia

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about African Life Financial Services