AfDB and ASEA Launch AELP E-Platform Linking 7 African Capital Markets With $1.5T Capitalization
The AELP Trading Link, a new e-platform created by the African Exchanges Linkage Project (AELP), enables smooth cross-border securities trading between seven African stock exchanges, which together represent 2,000 businesses with a market capitalization of around $1.5 trillion.
The AELP Link Trading Platform includes order routing, market and order-book data sharing, and stock market integration. The African Development Bank and the African Securities Exchanges Association jointly launched the AELP program (ASEA). The Bank is financing the project’s progressive implementation on behalf of ASEA through a grant from the Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation Trust Fund (KOAFEC).
In conjunction with the ASEA 2022 Annual General Meeting and Annual Conference, which took place from December 7 to December 9, 2022 in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, the launch took place on December 7, 2022.
The African Development Bank, institutional investors, stockbrokers, and members of the investing community attended the event, together with executives from African stock exchanges.
The ASEA’s President, said, “With AELP, we are entering a new era of African capital markets where all our members will gradually transact cross-border trades from one African securities exchange to another. This project represents a great opportunity for investors and issuers across the continent.”
In its initial phase, the AELP will link seven stock exchanges in 14 different African nations, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo as well as Nigeria, Kenya, Mauritius, South Africa, and the West African Economic and Monetary Union. In the wake of a beta testing phase, the AELP Trading Link became operational on November 18. With the assistance of DirectFN Ltd., the system is being implemented.
Additionally, AELP offers training courses on international investing procedures and region-specific investment regulations for financial market professionals. Financial market regulators, stockbrokers and security dealers, custodians, central bankers, and other stakeholders have benefited from capacity-building initiatives. The AELP has a dedicated webpage that is available at https://bit.ly/3haox78.
The African Stockbrokers and Securities Dealers Association has been established as a ground-breaking pan-African platform for collaboration between security dealers on capital markets integration and financial product innovation. The African Development Bank and ASEA have also supported this initiative jointly.
“It is our pleasure to cooperate with ASEA through this process culminating in the operationalization of the African Exchanges Linkage Project Link Trading Platform,” stated Mr. Ahmed Attout, Manager for Capital Markets Development at the African Development Bank. The African Economic Leadership Project (AELP) is a transformative initiative that supports the African Development Bank’s High 5 initiatives, particularly Industrialize Africa and Integrate Africa. Additionally, it supports the African Continental Free Trade Agreement’s goal of creating a liberalized market to promote capital flows, ease investments. Read more (https://bit.ly/3Bo7HZg).
