Bolstered by shared histories and burgeoning economic ties, Africa and the Middle East are setting their sights on becoming the next frontier of global finance and central tenet that robust Financial Market Infrastructure (FMI) is the indispensable foundation upon which this new financial landscape will be built.
This was the resounding message as the 2025 Africa and Middle East Depositories Association Conference (AMEDA), hosted in Lagos, commenced on Thursday.
Under the theme of leveraging Financial Market Infrastructures (FMIs) as catalysts for economic transformation, stakeholders from across both continents are convening to chart a course towards a new era of financial prominence.
The two-day conference, organised by the Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), has its theme as “Shaping the Future: Financial Markets and Infrastructures as Catalysts for Transforming Economies”.
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AMIDA serves as the pivotal umbrella association for Central Security Depositories (CSD), clearing houses, and market infrastructure providers across 30 nations in Africa and the Middle East.
Abdulla Jaffar Abdin – Chairman, AMEDA, said that this year’s theme flexes its deepest awareness of the rapid transformation taking place in the global economy and the role played by the financial market infrastructure in enabling economies to adapt to innovation and achieve inclusive growth.
“AMIDA holds the view that financial infrastructure is not solely a technical tool. It constitutes an essential mechanism for development and a sound basis for incentivising investment, improving transparency, optimizing market efficiency, and realizing economic integration within the region,” he said.
Financial Market Infrastructures (FMI) are the systems and rules that facilitate financial transactions, essentially the “plumbing” of the financial system. They ensure that transactions like payments, trading shares, and borrowing money can happen safely, efficiently, and cheaply.
Financial markets and FMis, including Central Securities Depositories (CSD) and payment systems, are essential for economic transtormation by facilitating capital allocation and risk management.
Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, chairman of Access Holdings Plc and Coronation Group Limited, said that Africa and the Middle East have the potential to harness shared geopolitical, economic, historical, and cultural ties and emerge as the next frontier of global finance.
“This emergence is contingent upon acknowledging the fundamental truth about the importance of FMI,” FMI is the “cornerstone of 21st century financial Markets and the foundation upon which sustainable growth is built,” he said. FMI providers are “satisfying a certain demand for robust, secure, and scalable market establishment.”
He highlighted that significant investment flows into the MENA region and collective investment into Africa by GCC countries are presented as evidence of a new economic partnership potentially forging this new frontier.
Imoukhuede said that both regions (especially Africa) have to leverage on this partnership by implementing high-quality infrastructure, real-time settlement status, and standardized digital technology protocols, which are seen as catalysts for transformation.
“The same high-quality infrastructure, real-time settlement status, and standardized digital technology protocols that are transforming the Middle East are precisely what will catalyze similar transformation in Africa,” he said.
He also mentioned that this can be done by addressing the lack of depth, stunted growth, and penetration in African markets through improved FMI that attracts both foreign and domestic investment.
“We still suffer a lack of depth, stunted growth, and stunted penetration. Only about 200,000 to 300,000 people make up our market, Imokhuede said.
FMI revenues exhibited an annual growth rate of 8 percent from 2018 to reach $278 billon in 2023.
The FMI segment is also showing promising shareholders returns compared to the broader sector, between January 2019 and December 2023, the FMI segment’s total shareholder return was 17 percent, 70 percent higher than that of the broader financial services sector.
Africa and the Middle east have an advantage of young populations. According to John Uwajumogu – Special Adviser to the President on Trade, Industry and Investment, these youthful population are driving demand for Inclusive financial services and increased connectivity across the region.
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Uwajumohu added that the path to a $1 trillion economy runs directly through the development of our capital markets and the strengthening of the infrastructures that support them.
“Financial markets must become deeper, broader, and more inclusive. And the infrastructure that underpins them- our financial market infrastructures- must be modern, efficient, and resilient,” he said.
Speaking on the use technology to drive participation in the capital market Yanmo Omorogbe – Co-founder/COO, Bamboo said that at Bamboo, it’s been observed that technology is significantly reducing the barriers to entry for younger retail investors in Africa.
“So, bamboo, we focused on providing a very user-friendly experience. right from being able to do KYC, get onboarding, start trading, open an investment account from right from your phone, we’ve reduced a lot of the friction and a lot of the barriers to entry that previously existed for young investors,” Omorogbe said.
Omorogbe said that over the past five years, over half of its investors are first-time investors, and over 80 percent of its investors are below the age of 40.
“ We’ve also seen a big shift towards fractional investing and micro investing, especially over the past three years. We’ve seen a shift towards micro manufacturing and investing, showing that retail investors are getting more confident and also and also trying to be more engaged,” she said.
