Date: 23 August 2022
Time: 08:30am EAT
Africa’s response to three crises – Covid-19, climate change and the impacts of the Ukraine-Russia war – will be pivotal in determining the continent’s medium-term growth and development trajectory. Africa has an opportunity to build back better – with capital markets at the front and centre.
Capital markets are a key enabler to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), thanks to their ability to efficiently channel growing pools of savings towards critical parts of the economy. More robust local currency capital markets can reduce currency and refinancing risks, improve the financial sector’s resilience to external shocks, and support more efficient intermediation of scarce domestic savings. At the same time, capital markets can play a crucial role in green finance by funding investments that support climate mitigation, adaptation, and resilience.
We have been developing capital markets in Africa since 2015. We have implemented over 50 programmes in over 30 African countries, working closely with private sector leaders and governments to support gender, green and carbon-linked sustainability bonds transactions, regulatory and policy development, new market infrastructure, and institutional capacity strengthening.
The Sustainable Capital Markets Development conference will share lessons and demonstrate the recent developments of African capital markets as a pointer to what can be achieved when different actors in the financial ecosystem collaborate on capital markets development. We will also launch our Capital Markets Impact Report and an Institutional Capacity Assessment and Institutional Capacity Strengthening toolkit for African securities regulators during the conference.
