Economic fluctuation among factors hindering capital market operationalization

The Burundi Central Bank (BRB) last week indicated that the capital market was established in the country 13 years ago despite not being able to be operational due to challenges mainly the lack of economic fluctuation.

“The first and the main difficulty is what I call awareness. Because to progress a project requires to understand clearly what it is all about,” said Pierre Damien Mpawenimana the Head of stock Exchange Unit at the central bank.

The comments came during a workshop held in Kabondo, on June 7^th noting that lack of prioritizing the capital market implementation has been a hindrance for the realization.

“The level of the economic development itself, other economic challenges and the political issues the country has been through or facing. So Policy makers decided/ chose to work on the other urgent matters of the country’s development,” he added.

“It means that every entrepreneur, every company which has a new project will need funding and capital so as we are talking about implementation of projects which are doomed to employ additional manpower to do so we have to be able to raise the capital,” said Pierre Damien Mpawenimana the Head of stock Exchange Unit at the central bank.

As for https://www.eac.int/financial/capital-markets, The EAC has four operational stock exchanges; the NairobiStock Exchange, Rwanda Stock Exchange, Dar Es Salaam Stock Exchange , Uganda Stock Exchange in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda respectively.

A total of 110 companies are listed on the four exchanges; 62 on the NSE, 9 on the RSE, 21 on the DSE and 18 on the USE. By the end of 2011, the four EAC stock exchanges commanded a combined equity market capitalisation of US$ 22 Billion for which NSE accounted for 55% with a market capitalisation of US$ 12 Billion.

Nairobi Stock exchange is the oldest securities exchange in the EAC dating back to the 19950’s.