Popoola advocates for collaborative alignment to drive sustainable capital at IFC Cairo Convention

Temi Popoola, GMD/CEO of NGX Group, known as for deeper collaboration amongst regulators, exchanges, and worldwide companions to unlock sustainable capital flows in emergingmarkets, noting the necessity for stronger ESG disclosure frameworks, coverage consistency, and coordinated market infrastructure.

Highlighting Nigeria’s progress, he referenced the nation’s increasing inexperienced and sustainable bond market, repeated oversubscriptions throughout sovereign and company issuances, and the success of the sovereign sukuk programme, underscoring rising investor confidence in long-term, sustainability-linked devices.

Popoola emphasised the central function of inventory exchanges in advancing sustainable finance, citing NGX’s Impression Board and NetZero Programme—initiatives designed to strengthen issuer transparency, enhance local weather danger reporting, and allow entry to climate-aligned capital whereas supporting the broader transition to a resilient, lowcarbon economic system.

Temi Popoola, Group Managing Director and Chief Government Officer of Nigerian Alternate Group, has known as for continued collaboration amongst regulators, exchanges, and worldwide companions to successfully channel sustainable capital flows throughout rising markets.

Talking on the Worldwide Finance Company convention in Cairo throughout a panel session themed Capital Mobilization for Sustainability, Transition and Resilience, Popoola supplied insights into the evolving panorama for creating economies.

He acknowledged that rising markets are navigating structural issues, together with the event of ESG information and reporting infrastructure, coverage frameworks, funding prices, and market liquidity. He additionally famous a rising international investor urge for food for sustainable belongings, supported by innovation in labelled devices and the continuing enhancement of regulatory requirements.

“Rising markets have a big alternative to contribute to the way forward for sustainable capital flows,” Popoola stated. “Realizing this potential requires constructive alignment, strong disclosure requirements, coverage consistency, and synergy throughout the capital market ecosystem.”

He highlighted the significance of evolving disclosure frameworks, noting that stronger reporting requirements can improve transparency, help danger evaluation, and assist entice long-term funding.

Drawing on Nigeria’s expertise, he pointed to the nation’s inexperienced and sustainable bond market, which started with Africa’s first licensed sovereign inexperienced bond in 2017. Since then, the market has expanded throughout sovereign, sub-national, and company issuers, with repeated oversubscription reflecting rising investor confidence.

He additionally referenced Nigeria’s sovereign sukuk programme, together with the newest Sequence VII Sukuk, which recorded subscriptions considerably above the provide measurement, demonstrating sustained home demand for long-term infrastructure-linked devices.

In accordance with Popoola, inventory exchanges play a key function in advancing sustainable finance by offering platforms for impact-focused devices, supporting disclosure requirements, and aiding issuer capability constructing. On this regard, he highlighted NGX’s Impression Board, launched in 2024 as a devoted itemizing section for inexperienced, social, and sustainability-linked devices.

He additionally mentioned the NGX Web-Zero Programme, co-funded by DEG Impulse, which helps listed corporations in creating science based mostly transition plans and enhancing local weather disclosures. The programme is projected to cut back or keep away from roughly 20,000 tonnes of CO₂e emissions in its preliminary section whereas positioning corporations to entry climate-aligned financing.

On collaboration, Popoola emphasised the significance of alignment amongst policymakers and market operators, citing Nigeria’s first sovereign inexperienced bond, executed by coordination between the Alternate, the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Surroundings and the Debt Administration Workplace, for example of efficient public, personal partnership.

The convention convened policymakers, regulators, trade leaders, and improvement finance establishments to discover pathways for mobilizing capital towards sustainability, resilience, and long-term financial progress throughout rising markets.