The efficient functioning of capital markets in the West African Region demands a regular assessment of policies and programs to fit current realities, and address the region’s peculiar challenges.
This was stated by Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr Lamido Yuguda at the West African Capital Markets Conference with the theme: “Deepening and Strengthening the Capital Markets Across West Africa through Effective Regulation” held in Accra, Ghana.
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The SEC DG who is also the West Africa Securities Regulators Association, (WASRA) Chairman, said the need for regular assessment necessitated the revision of the WASRA/WACMIC (West African Capital Markets Integration Council) Road Map to reflect current developments and include specific initiatives that will further improve the successful implementation of integration and other efforts.
According to him, “We are not unaware that in some member states, capital markets activities are still in their nascent stage. In collaboration with ECOWAS, efforts are being made to encourage these jurisdictions to join WASRA. We intend to engage and partner with them to build capital markets that will support the growth and development of their respective countries while advancing our regional market integration efforts.
“As the region continues to expand in market size and influence, it becomes increasingly more important to focus our attention on developing world class markets by looking at innovative ways to address critical issues such as systemic risk, market integrity, investor protection, Fintechs and disruptive technologies.”
In his address, Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Ghana, Rev. Daniel Ogbarmey Tetteh said the journey to achieve an integrated capital market in the West Africa sub-region began some nine years ago with the overarching goal of creating a regional capital market that would create the platform for various issuers including corporates, governments, regional development bodies, agencies and multilaterals to raise relatively cheap capital to fund regional infrastructural projects, corporate expansion and private sector development, cross-border trade and overall economic development of the sub-region.
