Dakar is a city in transition. The capital hosted the second edition of the Public Securities Market Meeting, held on January 24-26.
The forum focused on the issues and challenges of the regional government bond market with the aim of positioning the market as a real investment option.
To this end, WAMU-Securities and other financial market players are working to expand public securities to new investors.
“We need to rely more on our market, especially as external markets are almost closed,” began Banassi Ouattara, Waemu’s acting deputy general manager.
“Eurobond markets are closed due to central bank coercion while global inflation is galloping. So there is a need to broaden the investor base, and broadening the investor base also contributes to the efficiency of the market as it will lead to the expression of different strategies. That means the more investors we have, while some will buy securities, others will sell want, so there will be a lot of trading in the market. “
Facilitate financing of the local economy
The forum featured a three-day exchange on the theme of “Investor Diversity and the Efficiency of the Public Securities Market”. Basically, how to facilitate funding for local economies, something big players are saying requires a paradigm shift, especially for financial inclusion.
“Unfortunately, although the financial market was created in 1998, it has yet to be demystified and it no longer deters certain investors from different walks of life,” analyzed Harold Coffi, general manager of the financial services company of Societe Generale Senegal.
“I think everyone has a role to play: experts, SGI, SGO etc. There are also the banking networks as we have access to a large population that can easily adhere to these products. But there is also financial inclusion, the much lower income and unbanked population. OME, i.e. the telecommunications companies, can also help here.”
“I think it’s the combination of all this, strong partnerships, that will allow us to have a broad base to collect the savings that exist in Africa much more effectively,” concluded Coffi.
The financial markets remain indispensable in this effort to boost economies. WAMU-Securities, for example, facilitates contacts between governments and investors.
Additionally, one of the highlights of the Public Securities Market Meetings is the Country Focus. This is a forum for sharing experiences, but also for presenting progress and development projects to attract investors. A great opportunity for countries like Burkina Fasoa, according to Aminata Ouedraogo, Deputy Director of the Burkina Faso Ministry of Finance.
“For us it is very important because we started 2023 with an issuance program. It was an opportunity for us to first convince investors to join us, and also to share our issuance program. So for us this is a framework that we need to continue. We will return to normal conditions very soon. We especially ask investors to always be with us.
WAEMU, a zone full of potential
Today, the WAEMU zone offers guarantees: enormous economic potential, reassuring growth prospects despite global and internal crises. This is reassuring for investors like FSD Africa, an institutional partner of WAMU-Securities. Funded by the UK Government, this specialist development agency works to build and strengthen financial markets in sub-Saharan Africa.
“Our presence here in Dakar will serve to expand our network. It will also increase the number of institutional partnerships we can have. We have the opportunity to invest directly in companies. We also offer technical support to companies and governments on the continent. And I think that our presence will allow us to show all the financial instruments that we offer”.
Due to the crises that make access to international markets increasingly difficult, governments are forced to adapt. Financial market players have understood that economic sovereignty requires a broader investor base. For WAMU-Securities, domestic markets remain a more than credible alternative to make national and community economies more attractive.
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