A Mauritian businessman has announced plans for an ambitious pan-African Stock Exchange, using a chain of data centers based in Mauritius, which he claims will use hybrid cloud and the relative calm of a safe-harbor to ensure success.

Dhaneshwar Damry plans to launch the exchange across Africa, starting in Q4 next year. According to a report in Banking Technology, offering blue-chip African stocks and government bonds - denominated in dollars. Damry’s plan depends on the construction of a network of data centers, which his company Bhumishq hopes to set up across central and west Africa through its data center and cloud services business.

Lack of capital
“In Africa, there is a huge lack of capital, and this lack of data centers is the gap in the market we identified,” he told Banking Technology. “These are level four data centers. There are only two or three in the whole of Africa. We built the first one, in Mauritius. Without data centers, there can be no service.”

“In Africa, there is a huge lack of capital, and this lack of data centres is the gap in the market we identified,” Damry told Banking Technology. “These are level four [presumably Tier IV equivalent - Editor] data centres. There are only two or three in the whole of Africa. We built the first one, in Mauritius. Without data centres, there can be no service.”

Damry said that Addis Ababa in Ethiopia will be the company’s central African hub, Nairobia in Kenya will be the eastern hub, Nigeria and Ghana will be its western hubs Mozambique is being considered as a southern hub. Bhumishq is also planning satellite centres in Tanzania, Ivory Coast, Senegal, DRC and Madagascar.

The trading technology for the exchange will be supplied by Germany’s Deutsche Börse, on the Xetra cash equities platform. Participants will use a web-based connection, but it will also be possible to pay for direct access.

The project will be based a hybrid cloud, with private and public cloud assigned to different parts of its operations based on compliance needs. There will also be smartphone-based trading applications for retail investors.

“These markets have no legacy technology. It’s a great opportunity. Once the data centers are connected, we will have the only exchange with that pan African connectivity.”