Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX Group) and the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) are stepping up efforts to deepen cross-border capital-market integration, with both exchanges exploring stronger links that could enable companies and investors to access opportunities beyond their domestic markets.
The latest push emerged from a high-level investor engagement in Nairobi on Tuesday, hosted by the NSE as part of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery IPO, where Nigerian and Kenyan market stakeholders discussed ways to strengthen connections between the two markets and promote wider collaboration across Africa.
Aliko Dangote, President and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Industries Limited, used the occasion to commend Umaru Kwairanga, Group Chairman of NGX Group, and Temi Popoola, Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NGX Group, for advancing collaboration among African capital-market institutions.
Dangote said deeper cooperation among African exchanges could allow companies operating across the continent to raise capital in multiple markets rather than restricting their capital-market presence to their home countries.
He pointed to the planned Dangote refinery project in Mokowe, Lamu, as an example of the cross-border opportunities that could emerge from stronger integration between African capital markets.
According to him, companies with significant operations in different African markets should have the opportunity to consider listings in more than one 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 examine cross-border market connectivity and ways of strengthening cooperation among capital-market institutions across the continent.
Popoola said the objective of the initiative goes beyond the Dangote refinery transaction, describing the Nigeria-Kenya engagement as an initial step towards developing a broader continental framework for capital-market cooperation.
‘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.’
While the Dangote Petroleum Refinery offer provides a practical platform for the Nigeria-Kenya engagement, stakeholders said the broader objective is to strengthen relationships between African exchanges and facilitate greater cross-border access to capital-market opportunities.
The initiative also comes against the backdrop of existing continental efforts, including the African Exchanges Linkage Project (AELP), which seeks to improve connectivity and facilitate cross-border trading and investment among participating African exchanges.
The planned groundbreaking of Dangote’s proposed 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Lamu further highlights the potential scale of Nigeria-Kenya economic and investment links.
The project is intended to serve the East African market, creating a business connection between Nigeria and Kenya that extends beyond capital markets into the wider investment and industrial landscape.
Popoola said NGX Group intends to build on the Kenya engagement and develop a model that could be extended to other African markets.
‘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.
Frank Mwiti, Chief Executive Officer of the Nairobi Securities Exchange, also commended NGX Group for facilitating the engagement.
Mwiti said stronger collaboration among African exchanges could deepen relationships between markets, encourage the exchange of expertise and create additional opportunities for investors and issuers across the continent.
The discussions therefore place the Nigeria-Kenya market relationship within a broader effort to improve the ability of African companies to raise capital and investors to access investment opportunities across national borders.