…Nigeria Trust Fund, NGX central to new capital-market blueprint
The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has opened high-level consultations with leaders of African stock exchanges and development finance institutions to design a New African Financial Architecture aimed at closing the continent’s widening financing gap.
In a statement by the bank, it stated the two-day meetings, taking place at the Bank’s headquarters in Abidjan, brings together more than 50 heads of regional bourses and financial institutions — a first in the Bank’s history.
Nigeria features prominently in the discussions, not only as Africa’s largest economy but also through the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF) — one of the Bank Group’s three financing windows — and the growing influence of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) in driving capital-market reforms across West Africa.
Sidi Ould Tah, president, AfDB said African stock exchanges must become a critical lever for long-term development financing, noting that capital markets remain under-utilised despite immense potential.
“As the architects of Africa’s capital markets, you are custodians of our continent’s financial future,” Ould Tah told heads of securities exchanges, private equity and venture capital funds.
The meetings are focused on increasing access to affordable long-term financing, expanding the continent’s investment funds, and enabling capital flows to sectors that struggle to attract risk capital — particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which account for nearly 90% of businesses and over 60% of jobs in Africa.
The West African Regional Stock Exchange (BRVM), which lists several Nigerian-linked corporates and works closely with the NGX through the African Exchanges Linkage Project (AELP), stressed that fundamental reforms are needed to unlock pension funds and other institutional capital.
Félix Edoh Kossi Amenounvé, CEO
BRVM said African pension funds — including Nigeria’s multi-trillion-naira pension sector — must be better capitalised to support governments and private enterprise.
Representatives from the Nairobi, Tunis, Casablanca, Cabo Verde, Ghana and Central African Stock Exchanges also participated, alongside AELP officials, private equity managers and DFIs.
Key issues under review include sustainable finance, digitalising stock markets, attracting global investment, enhancing regulatory convergence across African markets, and improving financial education among young people — an area where Nigeria has recently expanded initiatives through the Securities and Exchange Commission and NGX.
Tunis Stock Exchange Chairperson, Sonia Ben Frej, highlighted the need to update outdated regulations, while Nairobi Stock Exchange board member Donald Waweru Wangunyu called for stronger regional coordination to overcome persistent barriers.
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Ould Tah outlined the Bank Group’s three-pillar strategy: Strengthening regulators and stock exchanges, Diversifying savings and market participants, and Boosting research, training and policy dialogue to build capacity among capital-market operators.
He emphasised that reducing Africa’s dependence on foreign aid will require coordinated action by stock exchanges, investors, DFIs and regulators.
“We will build it together — it requires a collective effort from each of us,” he said.
The consultations continue Wednesday with African development finance institutions, including representatives from institutions engaged with Nigeria’s financial ecosystem.
