Africa’s capital-market opportunity is not simply about attracting more money from outside the continent. It is also about connecting and using the substantial pools of capital that already exist within Africa.
That was the central message from Pierre Celestin Rwabukumba, Chief Executive Officer of Rwanda Stock Exchange and President of the African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA), during Africa Capital Week 2026 in Nairobi.
The inaugural forum was held from 7 to 11 September under the theme “Deepening of Capital Markets to advance Africa’s Economic Sovereignty.”
In a fireside chat with Steven Owuor of Frontier Africa Reports, Rwabukumba said banks can no longer finance African economies on their own. International development finance institutions also do not have enough resources to meet every financing need.
Africa must therefore look inward and build a financial architecture that connects domestic savings with productive businesses and projects.
Rwabukumba estimated that African banks, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds and pension funds collectively hold at least US$4 trillion under management. His point was that Africa has significant financial resources, but they remain dispersed across different institutions and national markets.
One country may have surplus capital while another faces a financing deficit. However, disconnected markets, regulatory differences and weak information flows make it difficult for that money to reach viable opportunities.
As Rwabukumba observed, “The platforms are there, but we are working and operating in silos.”
This is why he placed particular emphasis on investment readiness, summarising the priority as: “Projects, pipeline, preparation, that is the key word.”
Investors need credible businesses, well-structured projects and suitable investment opportunities before they can commit long-term capital. Connecting Africa’s savings to its development priorities therefore requires work on both sides: increasing the availability of patient capital and building a stronger pipeline of businesses and projects ready to receive it.
Regional integration will be equally important. Rwabukumba identified poor information flows, differences in legal frameworks and currency risk as major barriers to cross-border investment. Africa operates with more than 30 currencies, many of which fluctuate against the US dollar. This creates uncertainty and additional costs for investors seeking opportunities in other African countries.
He also highlighted the African Exchanges Linkage Project (AELP) , an initiative of ASEA and the African Development Bank. The project seeks to connect African stock exchanges, facilitate cross-border securities trading and give investors access to a wider range of opportunities across the continent.
Technology alone, however, will not remove every obstacle. Regulators and policymakers must harmonise legal frameworks, simplify approval processes and enable market intermediaries to work together. An investor in Rwanda or elsewhere in East Africa should be able to access opportunities in another African market without facing unnecessary regulatory duplication.
This does not mean removing important domestic safeguards. It means making national systems more compatible so that investor protection can coexist with easier regional participation. African markets will not achieve their full potential while countries continue to operate as separate financial silos.
Businesses also have an important role to play. Rwabukumba said more education is needed because many African companies continue to identify access to finance as their greatest challenge, even though significant pools of capital exist. Companies must better understand capital-market financing and prepare themselves to meet investor expectations.
He also called for legal frameworks that reflect African business realities rather than applying imported requirements without adaptation. At the company level, stronger governance, transparency and financial discipline will be necessary to improve bankability and build investor confidence.
In his words, “Once they get accustomed to being a good corporate citizen, the money will flow.”
Connecting Africa’s Capital to Its Future
The message from Nairobi was clear: Africa has capital, businesses and development opportunities, but it must build stronger connections among them.
Doing so will require better project pipelines, more investment-ready companies, compatible market infrastructure and closer cooperation among exchanges, regulators, governments and financial intermediaries.
For Rwanda Stock Exchange, this agenda reinforces its commitment to deeper and more integrated African capital markets. By working across borders, the continent’s exchanges can help move domestic savings from areas of surplus to businesses and projects that need long-term finance.
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