NGX, Nairobi Exchange chart path to stronger ties

Managing Director and CEO, Central Securities Clearing System Plc, Shehu Shantali; Group Chairman, Nigerian Exchange Group Plc, Alhaji Umaru Kwairanga; Chairman, Nairobi Securities Exchange, Tom Mulwa; President and Chief Executive, Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote; President and Chief Executive Officer, Africa Finance Corporation, Samaila Zubairu; Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, NGX Group, Temi Popoola; and Chief Executive Officer, Nairobi Securities Exchange, Frank Mwiti, during the Dangote Petroleum Refinery IPO High-Level Investor Engagement at the NSE, Kenya... Photo: NGX

Nigerian Exchange Group and the Nairobi Securities Exchange have advanced efforts to deepen cross-border collaboration, as Nigerian and Kenyan market stakeholders met in Nairobi on Tuesday to explore opportunities to strengthen connections between the two markets and across Africa.

Speaking at Dangote Petroleum Refinery IPO High-Level Investor Engagement hosted by the NSE, the President and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, lauded the Group Chairman of NGX Group, Umaru Kwairanga, and Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Temi Popoola, for their role in advancing collaboration among African capital-market institutions.

Dangote said stronger collaboration among African exchanges could create opportunities for companies to access capital across multiple African markets, rather than limiting their capital-market presence to their home countries.

He cited the planned Dangote refinery in Mokowe – Lamu as an example of the opportunities that could emerge from stronger integration, suggesting that companies with operations across the continent should be able to consider listings in more than one African market.

The Nairobi engagement builds on a strategic meeting convened by NGX Group in Lagos in April, which brought together leaders of major African exchanges to discuss cross-border market connectivity and opportunities to strengthen collaboration among African capital markets.

‎For Popoola, the significance of the engagement extends beyond any single transaction.

‎“When we began this engagement, our objective was continental: to bring African exchanges together and explore how we can create stronger connections between African capital markets,” Popoola said.

‎“Kenya represents an important first step in translating that ambition into practical collaboration. We see this engagement with the Nairobi Securities Exchange as a model that can be strengthened and potentially replicated across other markets on the continent”, he added.

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‎While the Dangote Petroleum Refinery offer provides a practical context for the collaboration, the broader objective is to strengthen relationships between African markets and facilitate greater cross-border access to capital-market opportunities.

‎The initiative also aligns with wider continental efforts, including the African Exchanges Linkage Project (AELP), to strengthen connectivity and facilitate cross-border trading and investment among African exchanges.

‎The broader significance of the Nigeria–Kenya engagement comes into focus with the planned groundbreaking of Dangote’s proposed 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Lamu. The project, which is intended to serve the East African market, reflects the scale of cross-border business and investment opportunities emerging across the continent.

‎Popoola said the ambition was to build on the Kenya engagement and develop a model for broader cooperation across the continent.

‎“We see the work with Kenya as a prototype for how African markets can support greater connectivity among themselves. This is an important step towards facilitating cross-border access to capital-market opportunities, with the potential to scale across West Africa and the wider continent,” he said.

‎The Chief Executive Officer of the Nairobi Securities Exchange, Frank Mwiti, commended NGX Group for its role in facilitating the engagement. He noted that stronger collaboration among African exchanges could deepen relationships between markets, promote the sharing of expertise and create greater opportunities for investors and issuers across the continent.