The West African Financial Market Authority of the West African Monetary Union (AMF-UEMOA), wants to ensure financial education of the population and enable them to have a stock market culture.The chairman of the West African Financial Markets Authority of the West African Monetary Union (AMF-UEMOA), Badanam Patoki, held a press conference in Abidjan on Wednesday, January 18, 2023, during which he briefly reviewed the mobilization of funds within the UEMOA space over the past three years.

This press conference, which brought together local and international media, was held as a prelude to the celebration of 25 years of AMF-UEMOA, an event that should be marked by a symposium and a Gala Dinner on January 19, 2023 on the shores of the Ebrié lagoon.

President Badanam Patoki, in his presentation, returned to the activities of the Financial Markets Regulatory Authority, formerly Crempf (Regional Council of Public Savings and Financial Markets); and this, in order to show the stake of the mission of the financial institution.

According to the president of AMF-UEMOA, from 2020 to 2022, the financial flows mobilized in the UEMOA space amount to about 8,000 billion CFA francs, that is to say 2,018 billion CFA francs for the year 2020, 1,950 billion for the year 2021 and 3,727 billion CFA francs in 2022.

Regarding the growth of the savings rate in the contribution of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Mr. Badanam Patoki said: “we have noted that the savings rate, which was 14.4 percent of GDP in 1998, is estimated today at 20 percent of GDP.” 

For him, these advances are accompanied by major challenges, including “ensuring financial education of the population and allow them to have a stock market culture. He defended that it is when people have savings that they can use it to invest in the market.”

He also mentioned the problem of addressing transaction costs, saying that “we must work to reduce them. Because today, players want to operate shares on the market, but the debt must be at a reasonable cost.”

Another major issue, he noted, is to work to ensure that all actors understand the need to apply the texts, before adding that “our role is not to sanction, but rather to accompany, to draft the regulation and ensure its implementation.” 

The president of AMF-UEMOA explained that “when the application is not done, we have this attribute to sanction. To educate those who are not to the need to respect the rules of the market.” 

Mr. Badanam Patoki announced that during the conference to be held on January 19, 2023 in the Ivorian economic capital, the new name of the Authority, which has been chosen to give more visibility to the body in relation to its missions, will be officially unveiled.