Kenyan CEOs join Africa’s capital markets pitch in New York

The CEOs will participate in Bullish Africa 2026, an annual capital markets forum organised by Wall Street Africa and recognised as an official side event of the 81st UN General Assembly (UNGA) week in New York.

“As a capital market, we want to be the preferred destination for long-term capital. If you look at developed economies, their capital markets consistently attract investment horizons of 20 to 30 years. Markets such as ours should be able to do the same,” said Frank Mwiti, CEO of the NSE.

The forum will be held on September 22, 2026, at the New York Marriott Marquis, bringing African issuers into direct engagement with institutional investors, financial institutions, regulators, stock exchanges, development finance institutions (DFIs), and other capital markets stakeholders.

The African delegation will share the stage with global industry leaders, including Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and CEO of Circle; Jessica Froats, Head of Relationship Management at the New York Stock Exchange; and Anna Sophie Herken, GIZ board member. Others are Chris Maurice, co-founder and CEO of Yellow Card; and David Awad, Principal Investor at Dubai Future District Fund, among other influential market participants.

Now in its second year, Bullish Africa seeks to accelerate capital flows into African enterprises by strengthening market intelligence, improving issuer readiness, and facilitating direct engagement between companies seeking capital and the institutions that allocate it.

For NSE chief executive Frank Mwiti, the road ahead is clear.

“We are pursuing three key strategies. First, we are working closely with government to align policy and regulation with national development priorities. Second, we are engaging institutions that provide long-term funding, including pension funds, asset managers, DFIs and sovereign wealth funds. We are also exploring structured solutions, including additional infrastructure fund listings, to attract more patient capital, whether blended or otherwise.

Third, and most importantly, around 80 percent of our effort is focused on mobilising domestic capital, both in Kenya and across Africa.

Ultimately, we do not lack capital. What we lack is the plumbing: the ability to mobilise and direct the substantial assets already held by local institutional investors. Deepening our markets is essential if we are to unlock long-term capital at scale.”

The delegation will also include Wall Street Africa co-founders Eric Asuma (CEO), and Andrew Barden (President); John Mwendwa, CEO of Invest Kenya; and Mercy Randa, CEO of P&L Consulting Group, among others.

According to the organisers, Africa’s greatest challenge is not necessarily risk but an “intelligence gap” that prevents investors from confidently pricing opportunities and deploying capital at scale. Despite growing investment flows, that gap continues to constrain the continent’s ability to attract large pools of institutional capital.

“Many investors already recognise the opportunity across African markets,” said Eric Asuma of Wall Street Africa. “The challenge is that they often lack access to the quality information, research coverage and market intelligence required to make and defend investment decisions.”

His view is mirrored by global capital market players.

“African markets have made meaningful progress in expanding access to capital. The next challenge is comparability,” said Jessica Froats of the New York Stock Exchange. “Investors require disclosure standards, research coverage and governance information that allow them to assess African opportunities with the same confidence and discipline they would apply elsewhere. This is fundamentally a market infrastructure issue, which is why this conversation matters.”

Concerns over political instability, foreign exchange shortages, market fragmentation and economic volatility cast long shadows over investment discussions about Africa. While these risks are genuine, African CEOs argue they tell only part of the story.

Investors routinely deploy billions of dollars into markets grappling with geopolitical tensions, regulatory uncertainty, trade disputes and currency fluctuations elsewhere in the world. What often differentiates markets that attract capital from those that do not is the availability of reliable information that allows risks to be measured, compared and accurately priced.

This remains a key challenge across many African markets.

Limited analyst coverage, inconsistent governance disclosures, uneven reporting standards and fragmented market data frequently leave investors without the evidence required to satisfy investment committees and fulfil fiduciary obligations, according to Mercy Randa of P&L Consulting Group.

As a result, potentially attractive opportunities often struggle to secure capital, not because the underlying businesses lack merit, but because investors do not have sufficient information to evaluate them confidently.

“When transparency is limited and market intelligence fragmented, even strong opportunities become difficult to justify. Strengthening disclosure, governance visibility and research coverage is critical if Africa is to attract deeper pools of institutional capital,” said Ms Randa.

Also, some global investors tend to view Africa as a single investment destination rather than a continent of more than 50 distinct economies. This broad-brush perception can wrongly allow developments in one market to shape sentiment toward the entire continent, obscuring significant differences in governance, economic performance and growth potential.

For a streamlined market, stock exchanges such as NSE are working to address investment pain points.

“Capital is already flowing into growth companies, primarily through private equity firms and DFIs. The challenge has been exits. Investors deploy capital but often struggle to realise returns because exit pathways remain limited,” said Mr Mwiti.

“Our objective from a capital markets perspective is to create smoother exit mechanisms for private equity investors.”

Mr Mwiti said the NSE is working with the East Africa Venture Capital Association (EAVCA) to develop a listed investment vehicle that would effectively act as a secondary fund, allowing private equity firms to exit investments more efficiently.

“We believe private equity firms and DFIs already know how to identify and back promising companies. If we can provide a viable exit ramp, they can recycle capital into new opportunities, creating a powerful flywheel effect.”

As for project financing, he said: “The key intervention is improving project origination and structuring so that more bankable opportunities come to market. There is capital looking for opportunities; the challenge is ensuring those opportunities are properly understood, structured and investment-ready.”

Bright spots exist.

Several African exchanges delivered sparkling returns in 2025. The FTSE/JSE All Share Index returned 56.7 percent in US dollar terms. The Nigerian Exchange returned 60.6 percent, while the Nairobi Securities Exchange and Egypt’s EGX30 delivered 51.4 percent and 49.9 percent respectively.

Likewise, Africa was the only region globally to register growth in private capital deal activity in 2025, recording 530 transactions despite a modest decline in aggregate deal value.

Better information does more than attract investment, according to analysts. It enhances price discovery, strengthens confidence in capital markets and creates the conditions for deeper and more sustained institutional participation.

As Africa seeks to unlock larger pools of global capital, African CEOs believe the next frontier is clear: strengthening the continent’s information ecosystem to match the scale of its economic opportunity.

“Africa doesn’t need a better story,” said Mr Asuma. “It needs better intelligence.”

That intelligence, he argues, could make all the difference between episodic investment and the consistent flow of long-term capital required to support Africa’s growth ambitions.