Yemisi Izuora
The Director-General (DG) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Dr. Emomotimi Agama, has advocated for enhanced collaboration among African markets for a stronger interconnection within the continent as well as development of new products.
This is as the SEC Nigeria signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Capital Markets Authority of Rwanda in Abuja, Monday.
According to the MoU, “each Party shall, within its respective mandate and Applicable Laws, cooperate with the other Party in areas including but not limited to: investor education and capital market development; exchange of information on regulatory and market developments; capacity building, training, and technical assistance; and cooperation on enforcement and supervisory matters of mutual interest.
“The Parties recognize the importance of cooperation in fostering confidence, innovation, market development, and sound practices within their respective capital markets, as well as in supporting regional and international engagement where relevant”.
Speaking at the event, Dr. Agama stated that the Commission is ready to actively collaborate with African nations to harmonize regulations, promote cross-border listings, and enhance investor protection across the continent.
He said, “We are excited on this opportunity to help you develop your capital market. We need to cooperate in Africa, invest in each other’s market and grow our continent. In so doing, we will build collaboration so that as Africans we can have a focus and build a strong interconnection. The time is now for us to look inwards.
“We appreciate the strength of the Rwandan economy as we are aware of the flow of finance, commerce and other great things your President has done to rekindle the real value of the African race. On our part, we have a very strong capital market structure and we want to see what role the capital market can play in all of this,” he said.
Agama noted that the capital market is the nerve Centre of the economy, adding that the citizens need to understand how to use it to create wealth to improve their quality of life of the citizens.
He said, “The capital market is an enabler to the development of the economy and we believe there is so much for you to learn from us to help strengthen your own market. We are excited about what the future holds for us, we are willing to assist to contribute to the success of other nations.
“Our relationship and Integration will go a long way in building both markets and make life better for our citizens. As we forge a common front, we encourage government to use long-term capital for long-term projects. The capital market is the solution to raising funds for long-term infrastructure development.
“We see the capital market as a solution provider to move the economy forward. We want to make Africa better and a destination of choice. We want to jointly work with other regulators to achieve it.”
In his remarks, the Chief Executive Office of CMA Rwanda, Mr. Romeo Ngaranbe expressed his delight at the relationship between the two regulators saying that the capital market had evolved and people would rather invest in the capital market.
He noted, “We are here to learn from you as you have a more advanced capital market and we are sure we will gain some useful lessons that has aided the development of your capital market. Whatever you give us, we will make good use of it and we look forward to a fruitful partnership.