Dipo Olowookere
A forum to promote green finance in West Africa is expected to hold on Friday, June 5, 2020 from 2:30pm (Nigerian Time).
The event, to be hosted online, will provide a platform for policy makers, government, regulators, West African financial market participants, domestic and international thought leaders on green finance, investors and other market stakeholders to share valuable experiences and best practices on green finance, and promote the development of sustainable finance market segments within securities exchanges in the region.
It is being put together by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in collaboration with the Milken Institute and supported by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The forum is part of the inaugural edition of the NSE’s Webinar Series on Sustainable Capital Markets for West Africa and is themed Fundamentals of Developing Green Bond Markets.
“At the NSE, we are resolute in our commitment to promoting sustainable finance because we recognise that urgent action is required to combat climate change and its impact as enshrined in the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and Goal 13 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“We are committed to fostering the growth of sustainable financial products which integrate the financial risks and opportunities associated with climate change and other environmental challenges,” Mr Oscar Onyema, the CEO of the exchange said of the strategic objectives of the webinar.
He added that, “Our collaboration with the Milken Institute to host this webinar, therefore, provides us with an opportunity to further contribute to the advancement of the green finance markets, as well to highlight our leadership role in this area.
“This journey began with the launch of the first fully certified Sovereign Green Bond in Africa by NSE, in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Environment, Federal Ministry of Finance and the Debt Management Office, and has since led to various strategic partnerships and landmark listings.”
Also commenting, the Executive Director of Milken Institute, Ms Staci Warden, stated that, “We are pleased to support the Nigerian Stock Exchange in their commitment to developing green bond markets at home and in West Africa.”
“Nigeria’s experience building its local market and its recent green bond issuance can provide valuable insights for West African countries.
“Building these markets takes intentional and coordinated efforts to create the regulatory environment that can attract qualified issuers and investors.
“This virtual meeting will help countries as they design and navigate their own road maps for creating sustainable capital markets,” she added.
The NSE continues to promote the development of the Green Finance market evidenced in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE) in 2019 to promote the cross listing and trading of green bonds in Nigeria and Luxembourg.
This partnership has already yielded its first fruit with the successful cross-listing of Access Bank’s N15 billion Green Bond on the NSE and LuxSE.
Furthermore, The Exchange supports capacity development and investor awareness through the NSE X-Academy, a specialized learning centre that offers bespoke capital market and business courses including courses across the Sustainable Finance theme.
The organisers of this event have urged interested participants to register at https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_hYf0Aa_rSeaA73_udnBbtg.
