African Development Bank signs agreement to fund regional financial market infrastructure

By Edlyn Cardoza

On Monday, the African Development Bank signed a grant agreement for an amount of $400,000 with the Dépositaire Central/Banque de Règlement of the West African Monetary Union (WAMU) to modernize the regional financial market infrastructure.

The grant will fund the creation of a digital platform to automate securities issuance for the regional financial market and reduce the holding period preceding subscription allocations and registration in the books of the Dépositaire Central/Banque de Règlement, the host of the digital platform. It is expected to facilitate access to securities issuance information and data for market stakeholders and has reliable real-time information on securities issuance.

The grant will be sourced from the Capital Markets Development Trust Fund, a multi-donor fund administered by the African Development Bank and supported by the Ministry of Finance of Luxembourg and the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Cooperation of the Netherlands.

“The African Development Bank is a key partner of the development of WAMU’s regional financial market. After having already supported the Conseil régional de l’épargne publique et des marchés financiers, the Bourse régionale des valeurs mobilières, and Agence UMOA-Titres, we look forward to continue supporting the development of WAMU’s regional financial market with this first partnership with the Dépositaire Central/Banque de règlement,” said Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, Director General for the West Africa Region of the African Development Bank Group. “This project will be implemented at an opportune time, when most of our regional member countries, including WAMU member countries, are seeking to stimulate their post-Covid-19 recovery. The support of the African Development Bank through this grant will help mobilize additional resources and support the efforts of the economies of the West African Monetary Union,” she said.

Edoh Kossi Amenounve, Director General of the Dépositaire Central/Banque de règlement, said: “The implementation of this project to digitize securities issuance on our market will facilitate access for investors, especially retail investors, to our products through an automated, transparent and secure subscription mechanism. The Dépositaire Central/Banque de règlement is delighted to be a stakeholder in this major technological development which aims to accelerate the development of the WAEMU regional financial market.”

Recently, IBS Intelligence reported that the African Development Fund (ADF) and the government of Malawi had signed a grant agreement for $14.2 million to undertake infrastructure upgrades and create a more efficient and transparent digital payment system.