WASRA inaugural conference to focus on infrastructure financing

The West Africa Securities Regulators Association (WASRA) will hold its inaugural biennial West Africa Capital Market Conference (WACMaC) in Abidjan Cote d’Ivoire, from the 27th to the 29th of October, 2019.

The conference has as its theme “Positioning West Africa capital markets to achieve sustainable and real economic growth through integration and sound regulation”.

The inaugural conference will focus on infrastructure financing across the region, and will attempt to proffer solutions or recommendations that will help shape the development and integration of the region’s capital markets and economies.

Daniel Ogbarmey Tetteh, Chairman of WASRA and Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission Ghana who disclosed this at the just concluded Executive Council Meeting in Accra, Ghana weekend, said the Executive Council Members of WASRA approved the hosting of the inaugural conference in Abidjan in October.

According to the WASRA Chairman, “activities in today’s markets span across regions with inter-regional issuances and listings being the impetus needed to drive economic integration and growth in the region. Thus, the theme for the inaugural conference is timely and affords us the opportunity to leverage on the information and knowledge that will be shared at the upcoming Conference.”

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The acting Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigeria, Mary Uduk, noted that one of the mandates of WASRA is to provide the necessary regulatory platform for capital market operators to play a major role in mobilizing funds to finance infrastructure and contribute to the development of the process that will integrate and ultimately develop the regional capital market.

Uduk said “It is expected that the challenges facing regulators and market operators in regulating cross border activities and bodies, raising inter-regional funds and listings will be adequately addressed.”

The conference will open with a Seminar for Regulators, Exchanges and Depositories in the region, followed by the public conference with speakers and panellists drawn from Regulatory agencies, investment funds, inter-regional economic bodies, as well as eminent researchers and academics.

The WACMaC is expected to become a major biennial event for the capital market community in the region and is jointly organised by WASRA, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the West African Capital Market Integration Council (WACMIC), and the West African Monetary Institute (WAMI).

Iheanyi Nwachukwu

Iheanyi Nwachukwu, is a creative content writer with almost two decades journalism experience writing on banking, finance, capital markets, and tax. The multiple awards winning journalist is Assistant Editor, BusinessDay. Iheanyi holds BSc Degree in Economics from Imo State University; Master of Science (MSc) Degree in Management from University of Lagos. Iheanyi has attended several work-related trainings including (i) Advanced Writing and Reporting Skills (Pan African University, Lagos); (ii) News Agency Journalism (Indian Institute of Mass Communication {IIMC}, New Delhi, India); and (iii) Capital Markets Development and Regulations (International Law Institute {ILI} of Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA). Other trainings Iheanyi attended include: Economic/Political Risk Analysis (By Thomson Reuters Foundation); International Financial Journalism (IFJ) (By PMA Media Training, UK); Effective Business Writing Skills (By Phillips Consulting); Reporting on Corporate Governance (By International Finance Corporation (IFC) & Thomson Reuters Foundation UK); etc. In addition, he has participated in high-level economy & markets events in Dubai, South Africa, Morocco, and other African countries like Zambia, Ghana and Gambia.