APA – Accra (Ghana)
The move to create a single African Securities Exchange market is on course after the first phase of the project saw the linkage of seven exchanges on the continent is one of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Wednesday.
The Graphic reports that the project to create a single African Securities Exchange market is on course after the first phase of the project saw the linkage of seven exchanges on the continent.
The first phase, which was a pilot, saw the onboarding of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange; Stock Exchange of Mauritius; Egyptian Stock Exchange; Nigerian Stock Exchange; BRVM; Nairobi Stock Exchange; and the Casablanca Stock Exchange unto the single market platform.
The first seven exchanges which were on boarded had a total of 1500 listed companies with a market capitalisation of US$1.5 trillion.
When fully completed, the platform would see the linkage of over 30 stock exchanges in Africa, with a combined listed companies of over 2000 and a market capitalisation of US$2 trillion.
Known as the African Exchanges Linkage Project (AELP), this is an initiative by the African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA) and supported by the African Development Bank.
The project seeks to foster the integration of African capital markets, promote liquidity, and enhance access to capital for businesses and investors across the continent
The second phase of the project would see the Ghana Stock Exchange, the Botswana Stock Exchange and six other exchanges joining the platform by end of 2023.
The newspaper says that the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Ernest Addison, has said the success of digital platforms and ecosystems depends on the active participation and collaboration of all financial institutions and private businesses.
He said all stakeholders must, therefore, embrace digital initiatives and make them work for their respective businesses as joining such platforms and leveraging digital technologies could help financial institutions to expand their reach, enhance efficiency and unlock new market opportunities.
Dr Addison said private businesses, on the other hand, could tap into the vast potential of intra-African trade, access a wider customer base, and foster mutually beneficial partnerships.
“Together, we can create a thriving digital ecosystem that drives economic growth, boosts investment, and propels Africa forward,” Dr Addison said at the 30th AFREXIM Bank annual meetings and stakeholder side event in Accra last week.
It was held on the theme, “Unlocking Africa’s Trade, investment and commerce opportunities leveraging digital platforms and Ecosystems”.
He said facilitating SMEs participation in the digital economy would enhance efficiency, extend market reach, and build their capacity to generate employment opportunities and boost economic growth.
“The broad-based acceptance of digital payments by SMEs will scale up products and services deployment, and provide digital footprints for improved credit services by financial service providers,” he said.
The central bank, Dr Addison said, was committed to supporting digitalisation and providing an enabling regulatory environment for Fintechs and financial institutions to unlock Africa’s trade, investment and commerce opportunities leveraging digital platforms and ecosystems.
The Ghanaian Times reports that the Chairman and CEO of Oakwood Green Africa, Mr Gabriel Edgal, has emphasised the transforma¬tive impact of Afreximbank’s digital platforms, including the MANSA and Pan-Africa Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) platforms, on Ghana’s economic development and participation in intra-African trade.
Speaking at a side event during the launch of the Africa Trade Gateway as part of Afreximbank’s Annual Meetings 2023 (AAM2023) held in Accra, Mr Edgal highlighted the significance of these platforms in unlocking Africa’s trade potential.
Mr Edgal stressed the convenience and benefits of the MANSA platform, which serves as a single source of primary data for Customer Due Diligence (CDD) and Know Your Customer (KYC) checks on African entities, including financial institutions, corporates, and SMEs.
He said by leveraging MANSA, businesses on boarded unto the platform could conveniently trade with their African customers, suppliers, and partners without the need for additional due diligence.
This streamlined process, he said, would provide a significant boost to businesses and greatly contribute to the economy by eliminating long-standing bottlenecks that have hindered intra-Africa trade.
“The MANSA Platform for instance will give a boost to businesses and help the economy significantly, as some bottlenecks that have bedeviled intra-Africa trade for so long will be eliminated with these platforms,” he said.
Mr Edgal said, “We need to start asking ourselves questions as Africans, such as; ‘How is it that trade with my neighbour just across the border has to be so painstakingly difficult?’…‘Why can I not benefit from the large mar¬kets for my products that Africa provides?’…‘Why is my focus only on international trade, imports that leave us as consuming nations instead of producing nations? It is time to think about Africa and trade among ourselves.”
On PAPSS, Mr Edgal spoke about the importance of the platform, and what it would likely mean for Ghana’s development.
“Through initiatives such as PAPSS, businesses in Ghana, for instance, can trade with their counterparts anywhere in Africa without having to convert their local currencies to dollar. If payments are being made in local currencies, it means demand for foreign currency will reduce, and once the demand for the dollar reduces, it means exchange rates will drop and the African currencies will be strengthened,” he said.
He noted, “It means importation of our inputs will now be cheaper, it means imported inflation will not be possible, as the local currencies will be more resilient due to increased demand as a result of local currency trading. Imagine the effect on our economies.”
The event witnessed the presence of key players within Ghana’s business sector and other West African countries.
The newspaper says that the Executive Secretary of the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC), Beauty Emefa Narteh, has challenged the citizenry to hold leaders accountable to sustain democracy and promote good governance.
“We have to change our attitude towards democratic practices of which many citizens consider only as participation in elections to elect a President and Members of Parliament (MPs),” she said.
Mrs Narteh explained that participation in elections to elect leaders for the country was not enough participation in democratic dispensation but they should also hold leaders accountable at all times, to sustain democracy, promote good governance and reduce corrupt practices in the country.
She was speaking at a forum organised by GACC with sponsorship from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), as part of activities marking the launch of the Volta Region Chapter of the Coalition.
It was under the theme: ‘Building a Culture of Accountability, Safeguarding Democracy, and Promoting Inclusive Development,’ and attended by civil society organisations (CSOs), professional bodies, associations and groups.
The participants at the forum appealed to the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) to lead the development processes of the country, instead of leaving it in the hands of political parties in government to ensure change of government does not stall development.
Mrs Narteh stressed that it was important for citizens to actively participate in the democratic dispensation, rather than being observers because it was the duty of Ghanaians to hold leaders accountable after electing them to office, and should not overlook them only to vote for them again after four years.
GIK/APA