03 Jul 2023

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has affirmed its support and dedication to the development of African capital markets by signing a memorandum of agreement with African Securities Exchange Association (ASEA) for a second grant to help the latter’s expansion.

Speaking at the signing ceremony recently, the President of ASEA, who is also the chief executive officer of Botswana Stock Exchange, Mr Thapelo Tsheole said that the second grant of about P8 million (US$600 000), which comes in the wake of the initial one valued at P13.2 million (US$980 000), will support the expansion of work from where Phase I stopped. 

“We are going to have more countries into the project and thereby creating a broader African network of stock exchanges. This means that by this partnership, ASEA and AfDB will be supporting close to 26 stock exchange across Africa with a stock capitalisation of over P21 trilion (US$1.6 trillion), which I think is a very huge number,” he said. Mr Tsheole also appreciated AfDB for supporting a lot of markets across the African continent, some from infancy stage to where they currently are. “Most importantly AfDB has helped us to access around P13.2m for Phase I. 

That Phase, which commenced in March 2019 with actual trading starting in December 2022, is now complete with seven exchanges having joined. With Phase II now beginning, we are looking at eight more additional exchanges,” he said. 

Mr Tsheole said that as ASEA, their target was to  have 15 exchanges in Africa. 

With about 31 brokers across the continent and a project management office for Africa linkages project, he said  their Project Management office for Africa will also support fund raising initiatives and increase liquidity across the market aimed at  boosting intra Africa trade between the markets.

 “As we pursue the full integration of the African markets, we eagerly anticipate the continuing partnership between ASEA and AfDB,” he said. 

He also detailed some of the successes of ASEA as bringing some technical companies to help look into issues of settlement and trading, especially in the movement of money from one country to the other. Mr Tsheole said that the aim of Africa stock exchanges is to continue ensuring the success of the Africa Exchange Linkages Project to ensure strong participation across members .

For his part, AfDB vice president for private sector, infrastructure and industrialisation, Mr Solomon Quayonor said the partnership with ASEA was key and was set up on the premise of supporting regional integration. 

“The the partnership here has been important to create a single African market valued at over P17 trillion (US$1.3 trillion), which created among others, skills and the right level of liquidity,” he said. 

Mr Quayonor also assured that AfDB would continue to invest in ensuring the integration of African stock exchanges. Concerning the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), he said that they had provided close to P216 million in grants to the secretariat to set up, and that the intention was to support further deepening of relations with ASEA to ensure the integration of national market, goods and services across Africa so that it could operate as a single block. ENDS