Participants at the ongoing two-day African and Middle East Depositories Association (AMEDA) 2025 conference in Lagos have stressed the urgent need for Nigeria and other member countries to develop a resilient financial market infrastructure that ensures inclusive digital access and promotes sustainable investment pathways.  
 
These efforts, they stressed, are essential in facilitating cross-border integration and positioning the region as a formidable force in the global capital market.
 
Experts at the event highlighted the importance of joint action among AMEDA members to drive innovation and overhaul their financial market systems. The vision is to transform these infrastructures into pillars of economic development, capable of propelling member states into a position of strength on the world financial stage.

Delivering the keynote address, Chairman of Access Holdings Plc, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, noted that enhancements to financial market infrastructure across the Middle East were already opening up new market opportunities for the region.
   
He underscored the need for deepened collaboration among AMEDA members to accelerate the organisation’s growth and global competitiveness.

Reflecting on the conference theme, ‘Shaping  The Future: Financial Market and Infrastructure As Catalysts For Transforming Economies’, Aig-Imoukhuede observed that the pace of progress in Africa, and particularly Nigeria, remains slow, not due to a lack of regulatory frameworks or reform initiatives, but because of limited market depth and penetration.He cited the relatively small number of digital asset participants in Nigeria – about 15 million as an example of the untapped potential. 
  
According to him, a strategic transformation of the financial market is necessary to unlock accelerated development and realignment. Also speaking, Vice Chairman of AMEDA, Haruna Jalo-Waziri, stressed the need to establish robust institutions, build networks, implement sound regulations, and forge lasting partnerships. These steps, he said, are essential not only to address current challenges but also to seize emerging opportunities and prepare for the future.
 
AMEDA Chairman, Abdulla Jaffa Abdin, called on member nations to harness their collective strength to fuel economic growth, drive innovation, and expand financial inclusion.  

Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Dr. Imomotimi Agama,  emphasised the collective duty of stakeholders to ensure that the growth of financial markets across Africa and the Middle East is not just quantitative, but transformational.
 
Earlier, Vice President Kashim Shettima stated that the financial systems of the region must undergo significant repositioning to support resilience, inclusivity, and sustainable growth.
  
He pointed to the rapid technological evolution reshaping engagement across Africa and the Middle East, driven by innovation, digital disruption, and shifts in the economic order. 
  
This evolution, he said, requires a fundamental rethink of financial systems and architecture Shettima emphasised the crucial role played by financial market infrastructures such as depositories, clearinghouses, and digital platforms in sustaining transparency, enabling liquidity, and building market trust.