The company reimagining capital markets in Africa, SecondSTAX, is announcing the launch of its cross-border multi-asset order routing and market data portal. The company is also announcing the close of US$1.6 million in pre-seed funding from private investors and venture capital firms including LoftyInc Capital Management, Orbit54, and STEMeIn.

African stock and bond exchanges are not easily accessible to investors outside their home territories, limiting countries’ access to capital and investors’ access to high-growth securities. Yet African capital markets have grown tremendously over the past decade, with over US$246 billion raised in debt, over US$87 billion raised in equity, and indices peaking at over 50 per cent annual growth across major stock exchanges.

SecondSTAX—Secondary Securities Trading & Aggregation eXchange—is expanding access to African capital markets by allowing broker-dealers, asset managers, and institutional investors to conveniently access markets outside their own country via a transparent, cloud-based portal, while improving opportunities for portfolio diversification and investment growth.

“The long-term goal is to interconnect debt and equity capital markets throughout Africa, enhancing capital flows, liquidity and price discovery,” said CEO and Co-founder of SecondSTAX, Eugene Tawiah.

At launch, the consolidated portal connects Ghanaian and Kenyan capital markets through sponsored broker relationships.

“SecondSTAX offers high-impact investment opportunities and can enhance trading volumes and values across Africa. We believe it will provide a roadmap for expanding major investments across the African capital market ecosystem,” said Head of Databank’s Brokerage and Corporate Advisory business, and SecondSTAX Ghanaian foundational client, Armah Akotey.

“SecondSTAX streamlines investing across African capital markets,” said CEO of Kestrel Capital, and SecondSTAX Kenyan foundational client, Francis Mwangi. “The pool of discretionary savings and capital held by pension funds in African countries continues to rise steadily, calling for broadening of the investment opportunity set. SecondSTAX is a simple, transparent platform to access diverse Africa-based investment assets.”

In addition to gaining access to Ghanaian and Kenyan capital markets, investment firms using SecondSTAX can now maintain assets in multiple currencies, reducing single currency risk and decreasing volatility in their returns, whether they are in Africa or elsewhere.