Deputy President William Ruto officially opens the 7th Building African Financial Markets (BAFM) seminar

The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) today kicked off a two day capital markets conference dubbed the 7th Building African Financial Markets (BAFM) Seminar.

The opening ceremony was officiated by H.E William Ruto, EGH, EBS Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya.

The BAFM Seminar is a capacity building initiative by the African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA); the Premier Association of twenty-eight (28) Exchanges in Africa, which was established with the aim of fostering inclusive socio-economic growth in the continent.

The seminar is designed to promote growth in African financial markets, and is an opportunity to enhance the capacity of African exchanges to compete effectively on the global stage.

The two day seminar running under the theme, Adaptive Innovation as a Lever for the Growth and Sustainable Development of African Exchanges seeks to support the assertion that through innovative and efficient ways of mobilizing and investing capital, including leveraging on technology, our financial markets will be better placed to fuel socio-economic transformation.

Speaking during the opening ceremony H.E William Ruto, Deputy president of the republic of Kenya said.

“The capital market is a key pillar in our economy and I applaud the leading role capital market operators have played in promoting asset ownership and wealth creation amongst entrepreneurs. I commend the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) on its effort in attracting such esteemed events and delegates to Kenya, as these support our nation’s goal to attain International Financial Centre status.”

Reiterating those remarks, The NSE Chairman Samuel Kimani said;

“The NSE is honoured to host this event because building African financial markets through capacity building and knowledge sharing is a priority for the NSE, particularly around promoting and facilitating innovative initiatives. Keeping up with global trends and providing world-class investment options to our populace is paramount to the success of our local and regional capital markets.”

“The BAFM is at the crux of ASEA’s aspirations to promote market development via capacity building and training for member Exchanges. In line with this ASEA continues to seek our partnerships with global institutions to align itself and member exchanges with highest global standards”. Oscar Onyema, President of the African Securities Exchange Association (ASEA) and CEO of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

The two day BAFM seminar, will be graced by over 200 thought leaders and experts in financial services from over 28 stock exchanges among other global experts. The seminar will focus on some of the emerging trends in the African Capital Markets, which include; Sustainable Finance, Cyber Risk, FinTech and Block Chain.