By Cynthia Ezekwe 

The African Stock Exchange Association (ASEA) has disclosed  that having successfully launched phase one of the African Exchanges Linkage Project (AELP), it is looking at rolling out the second phase of the project to ensure investors take advantage of the wide array of investment prospects across African capital markets, and and boost participation in investment.

Thapelo Tsheole, president, ASEA and chief executive officer of Botswana Stock Exchange, disclosed this to market stakeholders during the AELP webinar tagged: “Exchange Linkage Project- Facilitating trades across borders,” held recently.

 The webinar which was hosted by Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) and supported by Chapel Hill Denham Securities Limited, Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS), Cordros Securities Limited and Stanbic IBTC Limited,  provided insights into the benefits and objectives of the AELP, Pan African Payment and Settlement (PAPSS) and other cross-border transaction requirements.

Tshole noted that although African economies have encountered numerous challenges, the continent’s resilience in the face of adversities underscores its potential for sustained economic resilience and initiatives such as the AELP are very vital for Africa to rely on itself as it presents a momentum of opportunities for investors across Africa and the world by fostering deeper integration and connectivity among Africa’s capital markets.

“Having successfully launched phase one of the project in December 2022, connecting 7 exchanges across Africa, we urge Nigerian brokers in the process now to reach out to their counterparts in other countries and strive for an expanded cross-border trading across the continent. We are looking at the rolling out Phase 2 of the AELP in Q3 2023 as funding has already been approved by the African Development Bank (AfDB),’’ Tsheole said.

“We will expand the number of participating exchanges to about 15 exchanges and we think this will enable investors in the continent to maximize and take advantage of the wide array of investment prospects across Africa”, he added.

Lina Tonui, the project manager, noted that the phase 1 and 2  of AELP will see linked exchanges with market capitalisation of $1.5 billion, increase visibility to domestic and global investors, give access to diverse investment products, support innovation and facilitate Pan-African capital raising through IPOs.

Also speaking, Ositadimma Ugwu, the head, technology and operations at Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), highlighted that the key benefits for every participating exchange is that local currency payment will reduce the pressure on any country’s reserves and the elimination of third party dependencies will make intra-African trade significantly easier.

On his part,  Temi Popoola, chief executive officer, NGX, stated that despite offering high potential for growth and investment returns, African stock markets still face challenges, adding that the AELP will encourage increased participation in investments and further enhance financial inclusion in the country.

Also, Akeem Shadare, the managing director, Chapel Hill Denham Securities Limited, added that  the AELP has the potential to bring significant benefits to participating African countries and their capital markets, helping to promote economic growth and development.