Nigerian Exchange deepens cross-border investment t across Africa

Nigerian Exchange Group Plc and its partners are advancing cross-border investment collaboration among African capital markets, with engagements in Cairo, Egypt, and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, exploring how market infrastructure and institutional partnerships can improve investment access across the continent.

Using the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE offer as a practical context, the discussions focused on connecting investors across jurisdictions and mobilising African capital for industrial development.

Held on Thursday, 15 October 2026, the engagements were hosted in Cairo by the Egyptian Exchange, in collaboration with the African Export-Import Bank, and in Addis Ababa by the Ethiopian Securities Exchange. They brought together exchange leaders, financial institutions and other capital market stakeholders to explore practical approaches to improving market connectivity, broadening investor participation and mobilising African capital for productive investment.

Speaking during the discussions, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NGX Group, Temi Popoola, emphasised the importance of addressing longstanding structural barriers that limit investment flows across African markets.

He noted that the continent possesses substantial pools of institutional capital, but stronger market infrastructure and cooperation are needed to connect these resources with investment opportunities across national borders.

“Africa has substantial capital within its own markets, particularly across pension funds and insurance companies. The challenge is how to connect that capital to investment opportunities across the continent. The Dangote Refinery offer provides a practical opportunity to address some of the infrastructure barriers to cross-border investment. Beyond a single transaction, it is about creating connections that enable African capital to finance African growth,” Popoola said.

The President and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, highlighted the refinery as an example of the scale of industrial investment required to strengthen Africa’s productive capacity, reduce dependence on imports and support long-term economic growth.

He emphasised the importance of developing stronger channels through which African capital can support major industrial projects across the continent. He also commended NGX Group for its role in bringing African exchanges together around the initiative and acknowledged the participating exchanges for their collaboration.

The Group Chairman of NGX Group, Alhaji Umaru Kwairanga, stressed that lasting progress would depend on sustained institutional cooperation and the development of market infrastructure that makes cross-border investment more accessible and efficient.

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“Our task is not simply to collaborate around one offer, but to develop lasting partnerships that support cross-border investment and capital formation across Africa. This requires cooperation among exchanges, regulators, financial institutions and businesses, alongside investment in the infrastructure and technology that make participation more accessible,” Kwairanga said.

At the Cairo engagement, Executive Chairman of the Egyptian Exchange, Omar Radwan, highlighted the potential for instruments such as Egyptian Depositary Receipts to provide a channel through which Egyptian investors could access selected African businesses. He expressed EGX’s readiness to work with Dangote Industries to explore a possible framework for such an arrangement.

President and Chairman of Afreximbank, Dr George Elombi, reaffirmed the bank’s longstanding financing relationship with Dangote Industries and its commitment to supporting African industrial development. He highlighted the importance of mobilising African investment towards enterprises capable of contributing to the continent’s economic transformation.

In Addis Ababa, discussions focused on expanding investment opportunities for Ethiopian investors and strengthening Ethiopia’s participation in Africa’s evolving capital market landscape. The Chief Executive Officer of ESX, Yodit Kassa, welcomed the engagement, noting its significance for Ethiopian investors and the country’s growing capital market.

“The Dangote Petroleum Refinery offer represents an important opportunity for Ethiopian investors to participate in the growth of one of Africa’s leading industrial enterprises. It also reflects the growing confidence in Ethiopia’s capital market and our readiness to work with leading institutions across the continent,” Kassa said.

The Cairo and Addis Ababa engagements followed earlier stops at the Nairobi Securities Exchange and the Botswana Stock Exchange, extending discussions on cross-border investment across multiple African markets. The discussions also highlighted the practical requirements for cross-border participation, including regulatory recognition, distribution, investor verification, settlement, custody and access to reliable information.

The offer provides a real-world opportunity for exchanges, regulators, intermediaries and financial technology platforms to address these considerations and explore workable solutions within their respective regulatory frameworks. For participating markets, it also raises the question of how local savings can be channelled more efficiently into productive enterprises across the continent.

NGX Group remains committed to working with partner exchanges and financial institutions to strengthen market infrastructure, expand cross-border investment access and advance collaboration among African capital markets, contributing to the continent’s long-term economic and industrial development.