More than 300 policymakers, central bankers, institutional investors, and capital market regulators from over 20 African nations have gathered in Nairobi for the third Sustainable Capital Markets Conference, organized by FSD Africa and regional partners.
The high-level meeting takes place at a critical juncture for African economies, as governments confront tightening global financial conditions, reduced overseas development funding, slowing foreign direct investment, and elevated debt-servicing burdens. In response, delegates are focusing on accelerating domestic resource mobilization to bridge the continent’s widening development and climate financing gaps.
Although African domestic equity markets have expanded 27-fold since 2000 to reach $561 billion, the continent’s share of global capital market activity has declined relative to international benchmarks. Debt capital markets remain particularly shallow, with fewer than half of African countries seeing a domestic corporate bond issuance since 2000.
