Driving growth in African capital markets through exchange-traded fund initiative

Abhimanyu Yadav, Head of Fixed Income & Currencies at MCB Capital Markets, recently participated in a discussion on African Bond Markets at a Bloomberg event in Dubai. The event, organized by Bloomberg’s Dubai office, brought together key stakeholders, including Bloomberg’s Africa Economist, the African Development Bank (AfDB), and MCB Investment Management.

The discussion centred on increasing transparency on the African bond markets, both local and hard currency, and highlighting efforts undertaken to deepen local African capital markets as well as to provide global investors with liquid, cost-effective, and transparent access to them. Abhimanyu Yadav emphasized, "Local currency bond markets are key to generating sustainable growth in any country."

Abhimanyu Yadav also added that: "Our discussions were enriched by the presence and support of our DIFC office, which played a pivotal role in opening new doors with investors who are eager to explore opportunities in African capital markets." The engagement with the UAE financial ecosystem, including institutional asset managers, external asset managers, private banks, and broker/dealers, was highly productive.

"There was genuine interest in our efforts to develop and deepen African capital markets, increase transparency, and provide access through our ETF," Yadav remarked. This enthusiasm underscores the importance of these markets and the potential they hold for sustainable growth and investment opportunities.

While the event was in-person only, a follow-up webinar is planned for later this year. "We hope to build on this momentum in the future," said Abhimanyu Yadav who looks forward to continuing the conversation and expanding the reach of their initiatives.

About MCB Investment Management

MCB Investment Management manages the African Domestic Bond Fund (ADBF), an Exchange Traded Fund investing in local currency government bonds of 10 African countries. The fund, benchmarked against the AFMI Bloomberg African Bond Index 25% Capped (ticker: BADBC Index), is listed on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius in USD and the Botswana Stock Exchange in BWP (with local asset status). Launched in September 2018, with the AfDB as the anchor investor and sponsor, ADBF aims to contribute to the development of African capital markets and offer access to this promising, high-return asset class.