The Financial Services Commission of Mauritius (FSC) has become the latest financial regulator to sign the Marrakech Pledge, a coalition of African capital market regulators and exchanges committed to acting collectively in favour of green finance.

With an organised secretariat residing with the Moroccan Capital Market Authority, the Marrakech Pledge aims at enabling an operational framework for regulators to substantially scale up green market-based financing to fight climate change. It has been at the forefront of the development of green finance in Africa, helping private and public issuers of bonds and equity raise finance for sustainable projects. The collective experience available to members is helping them come up with an action plan to map their commitment.

The signing ceremony took place in early September in conjunction with the 18th summit of the Francophone Institute of Financial Regulators (IFREFI) hosted by the FSC in Mauritius. Commenting on the FSC's decision to sign, FSC Chief Executive Harvesh Seegolam said, "We want to position the Mauritian jurisdiction in Africa as an international financial centre rooted in green finance".

Joining the coalition committed to green finance builds upon June's Mauritius Budget speech. The Mauritius Minister of Finance outlined the intention of the government to come up with a framework for fostering green finance as one of the measures to diversify the jurisdiction's product offering.

With green finance still at a nascent stage in Africa, the regulators united under the Marrakech Pledge have a critical role to play in helping build the proper ecosystem for its increased adoption.

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