Yemisi Izuora
The Director General (DG) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Nigeria, Dr. Emomotimi Agama has been elected as Vice Chairman of the Africa/Middle East Regional Committee (AMERC) of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).
By this election, Agama is to serve on the Board of IOSCO, the highest decision making organ of the global securities regulatory organization till 2026.
IOSCO is recognized as the leading international policy forum for securities regulators. The organization’s membership regulates more than 95% of the world’s securities markets in over 100 jurisdictions and its membership is steadily growing.
In his acceptance speech, Dr. Agama appreciated AMERC members for the vote of confidence on him and stated that his election was a further commitment of AMERC to build on the foundations laid in advancing IOSCO and AMERC.
According to Agama, “It is with immense humility and a profound sense of duty that I accept my nomination as Vice Chairman of AMERC and Board Member of IOSCO. This is more than a personal honor—it is a mandate to transform our capital markets into engines of inclusive growth, innovation, and shared prosperity for Africa and the Middle East.
”We must aggressively expand listings by working with AFMI (African Financial Markets Initiative) and SSA exchanges to harmonize standards, reduce listing costs, and create cross-border linkages. To boost liquidity, we will pioneer regional market-making schemes and advocate for pension fund reforms to channel domestic savings into productive investments.
“Critically, we will partner with AFMI and development institutions to de-risk infrastructure investments and attract global capital. However, infrastructure alone is not enough. With 70% of Africa’s population under 30, we must empower youth through: Retail investor programs to democratize market participation, Fintech sandboxes to nurture youth-led innovation and Listings of high-growth startups to create wealth and jobs.
On digital assets, the SEC Boss emphasized the need to embrace innovation while managing the risk that comes with it adding that digital assets represent a $10 trillion opportunity by 2030.
“With our young, tech-savvy populations, Africa and the Middle East must lead—not follow. Through AMERC-IOSCO joint task forces, we will develop: Clear stable-coin regulations, Frameworks for tokenized securities, Investor protection standards for crypto assets and we must balance innovation with stability, ensuring our markets are both dynamic and secure.
Moving forward, Agama said there is still a lot of work to be done despite the progress made so far by IOSCO and therefore called on members to continue to render the mutual support and cooperation of past years for the benefit of investors, markets and indeed the world economy.
He noted that the Committee will continue to deepen discussions and debates to launch a “Listings Growth Initiative” for SMEs, create a cross-border settlement system to boost liquidity, establish a Digital Assets Working Group for our region and develop capital markets literacy programs
IOSCO was established in 1983 as the standard setter for the securities industry worldwide and currently has over one hundred ordinary members.