By James Otai
Kampala, Uganda-—Capital Markets Authority (CMA) marks 30 years of existence in style as they announce a growth in the market capitalization to a whopping UGX 20 trillion, where the Collective Investment Schemes are expected to surpass the UGX 17 trillion mark ate the end of this financial year.
The occasion was graced by Joseph Enyimu representing the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development. In his remarks he said government appreciate the growth realized by the Authority and pledged continued government support.
“ On behalf of government I want to commend you for the good job done, helping our economy not only to thrive but grow big, this isn’t a mini achievement,’’ Enyimu said.
Saul Sseremba the Board Chair of the Authority says, I am deeply honored and excited to be here this morning as we celebrate the 30 years of existence and the achievement registered so far.
“ Allow me to take you down the memory lane, ladies and gentlemen. When the Capital Markets Authority was established, I bring this because when I look around, I realize that about 60% of the people 30 years ago were not yet in primary,’’ Mr. Sseremba acknowledged.
“ So I’ll take you down the memory lane. CMA was established, and the authority worked in the basement somewhere in Bampaka, Uganda, in that building. That’s where the CMA was. Back then it was known as the zero floor, and that’s where the entire team was 30 years ago.’’ He recalled.
He said there was a team of visionary staff and the question of whether Uganda could build a capital market and the answer according to Sseremba emerged step by step. The Uganda Securities Exchange was licensed in 1997, and it listed its first bond soon after.
Around 2000, that’s when CMA had Uganda Clays coming on board as our first public share offer. And those of us who were old enough, that was a public holiday, having the first company getting listed he said.
Over time, several bonds, a tobacco company, a power distributor, a newspaper, all these followed, and each one told Ugandans and investors beyond our borders that this market was real and that Uganda was ready to finance its economy through the market. In those days, trading meant brokers calling out bids and offers and writing them on a whiteboard with markers.
Mr. Chibira, who was the first chairperson, and Mr. Jaffet Kato, who was the founding CEO, proved that a capital market could work in Uganda. Then came Keith, who led the authority through the years of consolidation.
And during his tenure, CMA had some of those other companies coming on board, including our biggest listing so far, MTN. And now we have those of in here, and I think our biggest role is no longer consolidation but now scale the market to higher heights.
He poses a question where are we today?
CMA now regulates a wide range of licensed and approved participants, including securities exchanges, securities brokers, dealers, fund managers, and many more.
The market capitalization of listed companies is now about 20 trillion, and we are proud to say that right now even the Collective Investment Schemes will surpass the 17 trillion mark. I think these are big milestones for us as a market.
“ Our market is still small relative to the size of the economy. In 30 years we have moved from the whiteboard to the screen, from the paper to the electronic records. Now the next chapter should be swifter. Why? Because now we have technology here,’’ he revealed
He further said, “he hardest situation was moving from the other analogue to the digital. But now that we have technology, we have the digital platforms, the next phase should be faster.’’
“As we reflect on the future, I believe with this technology, it will enable the next phase of our growth as an industry from the different angles. We must understand technology as a regulator, be able to supervise it and harness it without ever compromising the trust this market stands for.’’
He said there’s need to use technology to increase access to the market among the masses and investors. Technology is also an important stimulator in innovation and strengthening the provision of the market, not mentioning the public awareness campaigns that we do that can be enabled by technology.
“Technology can help us speak in a language that people understand. Currently, we are running a campaign of explain capital markets, Uganda.’’
As I said, our hope is that farmer, that young man, that young woman in rural areas will be able to access the capital markets easily as someone who is in Kampala, probably as easy as someone sending mobile money on their phone.
“You may ask yourself: why does this matter? I should tell you that government has set a very ambitious plan. We’ve heard about the 500 billion-dollar strategy. We want to achieve this. And as Capital Markets, we must be part of this journey.’’
Our strategic plan for 2025-26 to 2030, we hinged it on catalyzing participation and harnessing the capital markets, and we seek to facilitate the raising of capital to enable this bold national growth ambition. And that is our contribution to the 10-fold growth strategy.