Africlear Global has announced its intentions to launch a platform that will enable investors to attend general meetings electronically and vote in real-time.

Rose Mambo, Africlear Chairman and CDSC Kenya CEO, said the electronic general meeting platform will improve financial inclusion for shareholders whilst reducing issuer costs by leveraging operating efficiencies.

“Typically, we find that companies operating in Africa have very low attendance at their general meetings as investors are reluctant to travel from far parts of the country. With the electronic general meeting solution, investors can vote, participate, or just watch the proceedings without physically being present,” she said.

The platform, which was announced at the Africlear’s board meeting in Lagos, will also allow investors to appoint proxy, attend concurrent meetings, ask questions and express opinions, among numerous other functions.

In addition, it will enable issuers to make convocations, announce agendas, share documents and more effectively control the meeting process.

The board meeting was attended by representatives from the African Development Bank (AfDB), Central Depository and Settlement Corporation (CDSC) Kenya, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Nigeria and Altree Financial Group.

Africlear has also announced that it intends to facilitate connectivity between CDSC Kenya and CSCS Nigeria, and that plans are in place to link transaction management processes between the two depositories.

“By linking the clearing and settlement functions for CDSC Kenya and CSCS Nigeria, Africlear will dramatically improve the ability for investors to transact both within and across borders,” said Mambo.

“With the support of the AfDB, discussions have commenced with the goal of developing a fully integrated post-trade environment for cross-border clearing and settlement of capital market transactions,” she added.

Kyari Bukar, CSCS Nigeria MD and CEO, believes Africlear will not only enhance financial inclusion, but also improve regional financial integration through collaborative approaches designed to harmonize post-trade processes and procedures.

“By aligning a central security depository’s interests with those of the underlying technology provider, Africlear is changing the way African CSDs do business,” he said.

“Africlear will enable us to move up the value chain, offer new services and establish links to new markets, both domestic and international,” he added.

Africlear Global was founded by CDSC Kenya, CSCS Nigeria and Altree Financial with the goal of improving African securities market infrastructure by providing CSDs with the ability to offer a greater menu of value-added services whilst reducing the underlying costs associated with system acquisition and maintenance.

“AfDB supports Africlear for the evelopment of the securities market infrastructure across Africa. The Company is building links between African CSDs that will enable investors to transact in one country and settle in another” said Stella Kilonzo, Financial Markets Division Chief at the African Development Bank.

Following the board meeting, Africlear was honored at the Nigerian Stock Exchange closing gong ceremony in Lagos.

“It is a great privilege for Africlear to have been honored by one of the oldest and most respected financial institutions in Africa,” said Anthony Fischli, Altree Financial Group Chairman.

“We look forward to working more closely with the Nigerian Stock Exchange in support of its commitment toward implementing the highest standards of international best practices,” he added.