South Africa’s GEPF Allocates $1.3 Billion to Job-Growth Funds

South Africa’s Government Employees Pension Fund, Africa’s biggest, said it allocated 13 billion rand ($1.3 billion) to three new funds targeted at boosting employment and economic growth.

The Public Investment Corp., which manages most of the GEPF’s money, committed 5 billion rand to an environmental sustainability fund, 3 billion rand for a “priority sectors” fund and 5 billion rand for a private-equity fund, the Pretoria-based GEPF said in an e-mailed statement today. The environmental fund will invest in renewable energy and create about 3,000 jobs, while the priority sectors fund will target employment in manufacturing, agriculture, tourism and mining.