Ekow Afedzie, the Managing Director of Ghana Stock Exchange(GSE), has strongly urged operators of the capital markets in West Africa, particularly Ghana and Nigeria to take bold steps to complete the process of integrating the Ghana Stock Exchange and the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) including other Exchanges in West Africa.

Mr. Ekow Afedzie made this known at day one of this year’s West Africa Capital Market Conference in Accra. The MD asserted that the time to integrate the markets is now while stressing that “there is no time to waste any more”.

The Managing Director of the Ghana Stock Exchange argued that a bold step by major players in West Africa like Ghana and Nigeria will send a positive signal to the rest of the countries in the sub-region to also strive to benefit from the gains of the integration.

According to the Managing Director, the move to integrate the capital markets in the ECOWAS region has been derailed by some Francophone countries, due to differences in market regulations between English speaking countries and the French speaking countries.

Mr Ekow Afedzie stated that Ghana and Nigeria- the two countries with the greatest desire to integrate, cannot continue to wait for Francophone countries to delay the processes of integration.

“I don’t know whether it’s because of their system. They have one currency, one central bank. Don’t forget they are integrated already and so, it might not be their priority. So, the way forward is to go ahead with the integration. Ghana and Nigeria can start, and if Ivory Coast gets ready, they join.”
Mr Ekow Afedzie

The Lack of Agreement on Integration Process

Mr. Afedzie, however, lamented the lack of agreement on the integration process, noting that the processes of integration has always hit a snag anytime they begin the process. This he explained that is due to the fact that some countries have been indifferent with regards to the integration process.

“Anytime we get to the stage where certain decisions have to be taken in other to get the integration system rolling, then we have this issues with the francophone countries”.
Mr Ekow Afedzie

The MD used the opportunity to assure investors to invest in the West African Stock Exchanges. He thus, highlighted the numerous potential of the West African Region’s Stock Exchanges, saying that “West Africa Exchanges is the best place for investors. It has a huge potential for growth”.

The West Africa Securities Regulators Association (WASRA) is the regional association for Capital Market Regulators in West Africa with the mandate of facilitating corporation and consultation among Capital Markets in the West African region.

As a flagship programme of WASRA, the conference is a biennial event that seeks to present the West African Region and indeed Africa as a whole the opportunity to address important issues related to the orderly growth and development of the regional and continental capital markets.

The conference brought together relevant stakeholders and other experts including regulatory agencies, market operators, inter-regional economic bodies, and stock exchange managers.