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The Executive Committee of ASEA convened its first meeting in Marrakech, Morocco, on February 9, 2019 under the chairmanship of its newly elected President, Mr. Karim Hajji, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Casablanca Stock Exchange.
Other officers who were elected in November 2018 to the Executive Committee of ASEA include Mr Edoh Kossi Amenounve, Vice President of ASEA and CEO of BRVM, Mr. Geoffrey O. Odundo, CEO of Nairobi Securities Exchange, Ms. Anne Clayton representing Ms. Nicky Newton the CEO of Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Mr. Mohammed Farid Saleh CEO of the Egyptian Exchange, Mr. Thapelo Tsheole, CEO of Botswana Stock Exchange, Mr. Pierre Ekoule, CEO Douala Stock Exchange, Mr. Kofi Yamoah, CEO of the Ghana Stock Exchange and Mr. Pierre Celestin Rwabukumba CEO of the Rwanda Stock Exchange.
A key item on the agenda of the Committee's meeting was to deliberate on strategic objectives for the next two (2) years of the Association. The Committee meeting was well attended by all officers who unanimously ratified the following as ASEA's strategic objectives for the period 2019/2020:
- Advocacy
- Enhancing liquidity
- Capacity building and knowledge transfer for member exchanges of ASEA
- Regional integration
- Funding the Association
Mr. Hajji noted that: these strategic objectives will allow ASEA to adopt a more targeted approach in dealing with issues that appear to cut-across the region and specifically among our member exchanges. The President added that strategic advocacy was central to these agreed priority areas and that it would pave way for full attainment of the set objectives.
Dr. Edoh Amenounve also noted; we have re-aligned the task forces within ASEA with the current strategic objectives so as to efficiently utilize our resources. In so doing, I believe we will achieve tangible intervention for the improvement of the African capital market.
The 51st ExCo meeting ensued the 5th Steering Committee meeting of the African Exchanges Linkage Project (AELP) which took place on Friday 8, 2019 and was equally well attended by all stakeholders from ASEA and the African Development Bank (AfDB). The AfDB was represented by Mr. Emmanuel Diarra, Manager, Capital Market Division and Mr. Akin Adigun, Senior Capital Markets Officer. The meeting follows a confirmation that the Linkage Project would receive grant worth USD. 980,000 from the Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation (KOAFEC) managed by the AfDB. Therefore, the parties met to chart a way forward for the AELP as well as plan for a go-live in the near future. It was agreed to go forward with the linkage project with all six (6) initial participants, Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Casablanca Stock Exchange, The Nigerian Stock Exchange, Nairobi Securities Exchange, Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières (BRVM), the Stock Exchange of Mauritius and a new member, the Egyptian Exchange, which was unanimously co-opted.
