The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), IFC and the World Bank are working together on a project to develop well functioning securities markets in Africa. Under the Efficient Securities Markets Institutional Development ( ESMID Africa) program, the three institutions will provide support to emerging African capital markets.
Support is channeled to regulators and other market participants in order to build or strengthen marketplaces and institutions that form the core of the securities industry. Sida has provided $5 million to support the program activities.
ESMID Africa supports securities markets regulators to improve their regulatory expertise, and to design effective regulatory environments for long term capital mobilization. On the supply side, the program supports potential issuers and intermediaries to bring transactions to the securities markets.
The program initially targets five countries, namely Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.
In Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, ESMID Africa is working with central banks, securities regulators, stock exchanges and other stakeholders to simplify regulations and procedures for issuing and trading bonds, establish an appropriate market structure, strengthen secondary markets, build capacity of market participants and facilitate the regionalization of the markets.
In Nigeria, ESMID Africa plans to work with several stakeholders including regulators and market operators to develop an enabling environment for fixed income capital markets and promote capacity building for market participants. ESMID shall also support replicable transactions with strong demonstration effect.
The program aspires to expand to other countries in Africa.
IFC Private Enterprise Partnership for Africa