Africlear has announced a number of groundbreaking initiatives designed to promote financial inclusion and improve market integration across Africa by planning to launch a platform that will enable investors attend general meetings electronically and vote in real-time. Investors can also appoint proxy, attend concurrent meetings, ask questions and express opinions, among numerous other functions.
This was made known in Lagos at the recently concluded board meeting of Africlear leading representatives comprising Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, African Development Bank (AfDB), Central Depository and Settlement Corporation (CDSC) Kenya, and Altree Financial Group.
Africlear Chairman and CDSC Kenya Chief Executive, Rose Mambo said the platform will enable issuers to make convocations, announce agendas, sharedocuments and more effectively control the meeting process. She added that the electronic general meeting platform will improve financial inclusion for shareholders whilst reducing issuer costs by leveraging operating efficiencies.”Typically, we find that companies operating in Africa have very low attendance at their general meetings as investors are reluctant to travel from far parts of the country. With the electronic general meeting solution, investors can vote, participate, or just watch the proceedings without physically being present.” said Ms. Mambo.
Speaking further on these initiatives, MD/CEO, CSCS Plc, Kyari Bukar said Africlear will not only enhance financial inclusion, but also improve market integration through collaborative approaches designed to harmonize post-trade processes and procedures. According to Kyari, “by aligning a central security depository’s interests with those of the underlying technology provider, Africlear is changing the way African CSDs do business.” He added that “Africlear will enable us to move up the value chain, offer new services and establish links to new markets, both domestic and international.”
Africlear also announced that it intends to facilitate connectivity between CDSC Kenya and CSCS Plc, and plans are in place to link transaction management processes between the two depositories. “By linking the clearing and settlement functions for CDSC Kenya and CSCS Nigeria, Africlear will dramatically improve the ability for investors to transact both within and across borders,” said Ms. Mambo. She added, “With the support of the AfDB, discussions have commenced with the goal of developing a fully integrated post-trade environment for cross-border clearing and settlement of capital market transactions.”
Ms. Stella Kilonzo, Financial Markets Division Chief at the African Development Bank said “Africlear is at the forefront of securities market infrastructure development in Africa. The company is building links between African CSDs that will enable investors to transact in one country and settle in another.”
Following the board meeting, Africlear was honored at the Nigerian Stock Exchange Closing Gong Ceremony in Lagos. “It is a great privilege for Africlear to have been honoured by one of the oldest and most respected financial institutions in Africa,” said Mr. Fischli, Altree Financial Group Chairman. He added, “We look forward to working more closely with the Nigerian Stock Exchange in support of its commitment toward implementing the highest standards of international best practices.”
Africlear Global was founded by CDSC Kenya, CSCS Plc Nigeria and Altree Financial with the goal of improving African securities market infrastructure by providing CSDs with the ability to offer a greater menu of value-added services whilst reducing the underlying costs associated with system acquisition and maintenance.
