United Capital debuts CFA-Franc mutual funds in Francophone West Africa

Nigeria’s United Capital Plc has expanded its footprint into Francophone West Africa with the launch of United Capital Asset Management West Africa Ltd. (UCAMWAL), introducing two CFA franc-denominated mutual funds in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

The two new funds, the UCAMWAL Bond Fund and the UCAMWAL Diversified Fund, target individual and institutional investors across the eight-member West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) bloc. Both products are approved by the region’s Financial Markets Authority (AMF-UMOA).

“This product launch signals the kick-off of the expansion of our pan-African footprint,” said Peter Ashade, Group CEO of United Capital. “We are bringing our proven investment expertise into this market to support cross-border investment and Africa-driven prosperity.”

The Bond Fund is a low-risk, open-ended vehicle focused on fixed-income and money market instruments, while the Diversified Fund blends fixed income, equities, and money market assets for balanced exposure. Both aim to offer wealth creation and capital preservation tools in a region where access to structured financial products remains limited.

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United Capital manages over N2 trillion in assets and more than $500 million in mutual funds in Nigeria. The company said the move into WAEMU is part of a broader strategy to build a Pan-African investment platform.

“Our expansion into WAEMU is about more than presence, it’s about impact,” said Ejikeme Okoli, director of Africa Operations at United Capital. “We’re building a financial institution that partners with local economies to unlock long-term prosperity.”

The UCAMWAL launch comes as WAEMU governments seek to deepen capital markets and mobilize domestic savings. The initiative also reflects rising investor interest in diversified vehicles denominated in regional currencies.

Labas Bamba, managing director of UCAMWAL, described the launch as a step towards reshaping asset and wealth management in the region.

“These funds are tailored to meet the distinct needs of our investors, blending global standards with local market insight,” he said.

Wasiu Alli

Wasiu Alli is a business, economics cum data journalist with strong expertise covering macro trends, capital markets, government policies, corporate earnings and comparative economics analysis. Alli turns raw data into trends that not only tells compelling stories but nudges investors to make valued and informed decisions. He’s an alumnus of Lagos State University and trained at Lagos Business School. He formerly heads the Companies and Markets desk at BusinessDay where he writes and supervises the production of well researched articles on earnings updates, corporate sectoral comparisons, market intelligence as well as interviews with C-suite executives.