The World Investor Week (“WIW”) 2021, hosted by the World Federation of Exchanges, the global industry group for Exchanges and Central Counterparties, in partnership with the International Organisation of Securities Commissions, is a global campaign aimed at raising awareness on the importance of investor education and protection and promoting financial literacy. This 5th WIW, which is running from October 4 – 10, 2021, sees the uniting of over seventy-eight (78) Exchanges around the world in support of the awareness campaign through the “ringing of the bell” across multiple jurisdictions throughout WIW2021.

FMDQ Holdings PLC (“FMDQ Group” or “FMDQ”) joined the world’s Exchanges to commemorate the WIW 2021 through targeted social media campaigns, which showcased FMDQ’s contributions to investor education and financial literacy. A virtual “Ring the Bell for Financial Literacy” Ceremony was also held on Thursday, October 7, 2021, to create awareness on the importance of investor protection and to promote financial literacy.

As a financial market infrastructure group that prioritises investor protection and financial literacy, FMDQ Group, through the various initiatives of its wholly owned subsidiaries – FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited (“FMDQ Exchange”), FMDQ Clear Limited (“FMDQ Clear”), FMDQ Depository Limited (“FMDQ Depository”) and FMDQ Private Markets Limited (“FMDQ Private Markets”) – is committed to ensuring the interests of the investors in its markets are protected. These initiatives include, amongst others, the maintenance of an Investor Protection Fund by FMDQ Exchange, the provision of broad-spectrum clearing risk management for traded securities by FMDQ Clear, the facilitation of settlement finality for securities transactions through delivery versus payment by FMDQ Depository, and the provision of transparency for private securities issuances by FMDQ Private Markets.

FMDQ Group is also committed to investor education and financial literacy which are executed through its financial markets education initiatives – FMDQ Academy, and the FMDQ Next Generation Financial Markets Empowerment Programme (“FMDQ-Next”) [its flagship corporate responsibility initiative]. FMDQ Academy delivers specialised financial markets training to key stakeholders – Financial Markets Regulators, Government & Agencies, Members, Investors, Media and the Public – in line with FMDQ’s markets and products development agenda, while FMDQ-Next promotes financial markets awareness and literacy among students across the levels (primary, secondary and tertiary education levels, as well as to fresh graduates. FMDQ-Next, which was launched in 2018, has positively impacted over seven hundred and thirty-two (732) participants and counting.

FMDQ Group is Africa’s first vertically integrated financial market infrastructure group, strategically positioned to provide, through its wholly owned subsidiaries – FMDQ Exchange, FMDQ Clear, FMDQ Depository and FMDQ Private Markets-registration, listing, quotation and noting services; integrated trading, clearing & central counterparty, settlement, and risk management for financial markets transactions; depository of securities, as well as data and information services, across the debt capital, foreign exchange, derivatives and equity markets.