Dr Edoh Kossi Amenoune CEO of the Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières

IT IS A GOOD TIME TO INVEST IN AFRICA

Corporate Africa Special Project Director, Jian Sun speaks with Dr Edoh Kossi Amenoune CEO of the Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières, at the BRVM Road Show in London.

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Dr Kossi, you are the CEO of the Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières [BRVM], the first and only regional stock Exchange in Africa and the world. Can you tell us the underlying reasons for this being so?

We started to promote BVRM capital market ten years ago, through road show events in key financial places like London, New York, Dubai and Shanghai, etc. We think it is very important for us to have this kind of event to connect and engage with our clients. Because as you know, the BRVM is an international capital market for Francophone African states and we have many investors coming from UK, USA and other places. So our strategy is to reach out and discuss and present the evolution of the market, our perspective, and get feedback from them to see what we can do better to develop BVRM markets.

This is the second BRVM Road show in London and can you please explain why you once again chose the Anglophone capital of London for this event?

The BRVM has a number of priorities which includes improving and making the exchange and the WAEMU (West African Economic and Monetary Union) region more attractive for investors. Returning to London for the second BRVM Investment Days Road show is a measure of the forum’s success and value in fostering strategic, in-depth dialogue with international investors. The shows are essential to strengthening investors’ confidence in African stock exchanges while highlighting the important role exchanges play in financing West African countries’ economic development. They are also to promote investment opportunities by highlighting key sectors of interest, including telecommunications, financial services, agriculture and energy. The event aims to drive regional integration and highlight the economic diversification and growth opportunities in the guest country, which is Benin in 2025.

Over the last year the BRVM has experienced record growth with its market capitalization reaching a record high of 10,200 billion CFA francs, a 29 per cent increase year-on-year, and the BRVM Composite Index rising also by 29 per cent. This is an excellent achievement and how would you like investors to view this success?

Yes, the BVRM has a unique experience in the world. It is a regional market that is shared by many countries. There are eight countries that are involved in our market. I think that is a very rich experience for the WAEMU countries to have only one marketplace on which to trade. And also, we greatly appreciate the performance of the market because when it started there were only 34 companies listed and at the end of 2024, there are 47 listed with a market capitalization of some US$16 billion.

This growth generates confidence for us. And we also have a good performance of the bond market, which is not far off US$16 billion at end of 2024. So combining the two results for the bond market and the BRVM gives a sum of thirty billion dollars total market capitalization which makes us confident in our future.

It is important because we are ranked in fifth position on the African continent, behind Egypt because we don’t compare with Lagos and Johannesburg. What are the key drivers of this performance? First, I think that it is the economic performance of our members’ state, which during the last three years, averaged around six per cent GDP growth. Secondly inflation has also declined since the pandemic. Last year, we were about a 2.7 inflation rate which is good enough to generate confidence and attract regional and international investors into our markets.

Why is now a good time for investors to invest in the guest country of Benin?

I can say that our market is doing well because our economies are dynamic, some like Benin, the guest country for this BRVM Investment Days event in London, has one of the best performing economies in the region. It has excellent GDP growth above six per cent and good and transparent reforms that is attracting more for FDI and also portfolio investors to the country. Benin’s government has been enacting reforms and focusing resources on areas underpinning the nation’s long-term growth such as fiscal policies. The IMF noted in its January 2025 reports that “innovation and strong reform drives have strengthened Benin’s resilience to regional and global challenges and supported progress towards meeting the Sustainable Development Goals”. Transformation is happening across its economy in terms of investments in agriculture, textile, and tourism. It offers more opportunities for all investors.

What message would you like to send to prospective businesses and institutional investors here in the UK about Benin and the BVRM economies?

Africa has been rising for many years. The investment opportunities are huge in all sectors, including finance, agriculture, mining, energy, and tourism. But our key objective is to present these opportunities to international investors. The economy data that we show to prospective investors proves that Africa is a business continent. We don’t need any more addresses we just need to create more business opportunities in our region. We want to talk business with investment partners across the world. If you want to do business with us, to have a good return on your investment, it’s a time to come to Africa, come to the WAEMU region, we will be happy to work with you to share the prosperity of good economic growth.