On 29 January 2026, the London Stock Exchange formally recognised the launch of the Africa Tech Index (AT50) by Indexa Exchange Group. The ceremony signified an important step in enhancing the visibility of scaled African technology companies within global capital markets. The AT50 is a rules-based, quarterly benchmark that offers a consistent evaluative framework for institutional investors to assess the listing readiness of Africa’s leading private technology enterprises.
Developed to address a long-standing gap in institutional comparability and market access, the AT50 serves as a tool to bridge private market performance with public market expectations. Over the last decade, numerous African technology firms have demonstrated sustained growth in transaction volumes, revenue generation and regional integration. Despite this, many remain outside the purview of public markets, often due to limited mechanisms for transparency and valuation standardisation.
The launch event convened senior figures from stock exchanges, banking institutions, asset management firms and capital markets infrastructure providers, as well as technology founders and executives from the AT50 companies. A notable feature of the day included a fireside discussion between Gbite Oduneye, Chair of the Africa Tech Index, and Abi Ajayi, who leads Primary Markets for Africa and the Middle East at the London Stock Exchange. The discussion was followed by panel sessions which explored themes such as private securities evolution, liquidity pathways, governance standards and the role of public markets as growth enablers for technology companies operating at scale.
Ajayi noted that “trusted markets are built on transparency, governance and comparable standards” and reiterated the London Stock Exchange’s commitment to facilitating dialogue around private to public transitions across emerging economies. She underscored that the AT50 aligns with broader market infrastructure efforts to support credible listing journeys for companies with deep regional impact and global potential.
Oduneye emphasised that African private technology enterprises have achieved operational maturity and resilience. However, long-term institutional capital has often lacked robust benchmarks to assess market readiness. According to Oduneye, the AT50 was designed precisely to address this gap, offering a transparent and rules-based methodology for comparing firms across sectors and geographies. In doing so, it seeks to build trust and offer institutional clarity in markets that have historically operated with limited formal reference points.
While the AT50 draws attention to companies across the continent, it also implicitly challenges legacy frameworks that have historically assessed African economic potential through a narrow or extractive lens. By focusing on technological scale, governance and structural depth, the AT50 reframes African enterprises as serious market participants with demonstrable value and sustainable trajectories.
The index’s creation reflects a growing recognition that African narratives require a shift from reactive portrayals to institutional frameworks that acknowledge indigenous agency, innovation and operational excellence. The initiative is not an act of validation by foreign markets but a collaborative articulation of the infrastructural tools required to ensure that African firms can access global capital on their own terms.
With the AT50 now active, it remains to be seen how it will influence institutional investor behaviour and whether it will catalyse broader reforms in regional private capital markets. However, its very existence already represents a departure from episodic engagement with African growth stories toward a more structured and inclusive paradigm.
For further details on the AT50 Index, visit the Indexa Exchange Group official website.
