Islam Azzam, chairperson of the Egyptian Exchange (EGX), stated that the upcoming phase will feature deeper cooperation among African markets, along with new financial instruments and enhanced transparency frameworks. He noted these measures will unlock broader investment flows and promote comprehensive, sustainable development across the continent. Azzam delivered these remarks at a high-level panel during the Annual Conference of the African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA).
Islam Azzam spoke at the Annual Conference of the African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA), a key gathering of capital-market leaders, policymakers, and financial experts focused on the future of African exchanges and their role in funding the continent's development. He highlighted Africa's substantial economic growth potential, with capital markets poised to mobilize long-term financing for infrastructure, energy projects, and the green transition. Azzam stressed that greater integration among African exchanges is essential to address financing challenges, expand the investor base, and enable smoother capital flows within the continent.
Reviewing recent developments, Azzam pointed to strengthened market infrastructure, updated listing and disclosure rules, modernized technological systems, and the introduction of new indices and financial instruments to attract diverse investors. He noted that the EGX was among the first exchanges worldwide to adopt sustainability principles, launching its initial sustainability index over 14 years ago and later establishing a comprehensive framework for responsible investment.
Azzam described the launch of the Egyptian Climate Exchange as a major milestone, allowing the trading of carbon-reduction certificates and various renewable-energy and green-economy instruments. The platform, he said, will enable companies to access innovative financing for the green transition and help close Africa's climate-finance gap, estimated at billions of dollars yearly.
He also outlined EGX's expansion of Sharia-compliant tools, including the EGX33 Shariah Index with 33 compliant companies featuring highly liquid stocks, which has risen more than 38% since the year's start. “Our work is fully aligned with the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) to strengthen regulatory frameworks that support new issuances, whether ETF funds or Islamic sukuk,” Azzam stated, adding that Islamic finance has emerged as a promising avenue for large-scale investments in African markets.
Azzam advocated for deeper cooperation among African exchanges in knowledge-sharing, harmonizing accounting and regulatory standards, and linking trading and settlement systems. He reaffirmed EGX's dedication to ASEA initiatives for building resilient, integrated markets to finance economic growth, while emphasizing the need to enhance financial literacy and provide small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with innovative financing for expansion and development.