It challenges the actors who participated in the creation of this ambitious project that is the WAEMU regional market, and urges them to continue their work with high-impact actions.

In this interview with the Journal de l'économie sénégalaise (Lejecos), she returns, among other things, to issues related to the performance of her CGF Bourse group, the impact of the coronavirus on the financial market and companies, the absence of insurance companies in this market.

Very simply, I would say that the CGF Bourse group is a Management and Intermediation Company approved by the Regional Council for Public Savings and Financial Markets (CREPMF). As an SGI, CGF Bourse is the link between the capital market and investors, with the aim of finding adequate solutions to their financing and/or investment needs.

Our business has a basic base which is advice for both financing and investment. Our activities are carried out on behalf of companies, states and local authorities seeking to raise resources. Investors, whether natural or legal persons, invest their excess cash through securities. As IMS, we ensure the custody of these securities in portfolios valued on a daily basis.

Thus, since 1998, we offer financing, investment and investment solutions to private and public institutions, as well as individuals in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) area and internationally.

Our subsidiary CGF Gestion, created in 2001, is in charge of the creation and management of Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS). CGF Gestion is, I would remind you, the first collective management company approved in Senegal.

It offers a wide range of Mutual Funds (FCP) and is active in the creation and implementation of Corporate Savings Plans (PEEs), useful in two ways.

First of all, they are investment vehicles likely to motivate and strengthen employee loyalty, then for the company there are opportunities to benefit from tax advantages.

Other tailor-made placement vehicles can be set up to meet specific needs.

CGF Bourse and CGF Gestion are two entities in full dynamics. We are two entities certified for more than 15 years for a work based above all on the rigor, the anticipation, and the continuous improvement of our processes.

Moreover, CGF Bourse was awarded the best Management and Intermediation Company (SGI) of the WAEMU, during the first edition of the BRVM AWARDS, held in February 2020.

As you know, the evaluation of the SGI was based mainly on the activities of the year 2019 and it focused on quantitative and qualitative criteria such as the value of transactions on the BRVM, assets under custody, presence on social networks, the availability of a platform dedicated to customers, communication actions and, among others, the quality of customer service.

I would point out that last July, we obtained the renewal of our management rating with the maintenance of the five-star rating.

The year 2020 has allowed us to strengthen our digital transformation, as the context of this pandemic has reinforced the acceleration of change management both internally and with our customers and partners. We have just obtained our approval as a listing sponsor for the support of SMEs in the 3rd compartment of the BRVM.

This approval is in the wake of the regulations of the Regional Council of Public Savings and Financial Markets (CREPMF) particularly with a view to taking charge of our SMEs which represent the majority of our economic fabric.

CGF Gestion now has 21 Mutual Funds (FCPs) including 6 new ones available to natural and legal persons, with the creation of the FCP retirement capital, Diaspora, Expat, Perpetual Annuity, Walo and Djolof.

These different targets thus benefit from diversified, accessible and profitable products. CGF Gestion thus covers three types of FCP profile: Bond, Equity, Mixed.

As a result, we have MUTUAL funds that respect the rules of Islamic finance (halal) both in the form of equity funds (FCP Al Baraka) and FCP invested mainly in Sukuks (FCP Al Baraka 2).

Support for employees through company savings plans has been strengthened and we invite them to take greater ownership of this approach.

It is still premature to assess on a large scale the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the activities of IMS. At the capital market level, we had seen a slowdown in investments, particularly at the institutional level, in the period from March to May 2020.

The urgency at their level was more related to the review of investment orientations. We have thus supported our clients in an analysis of their portfolio, for a better asset allocation and a revival of their investments on the financial market.

Institutional investors have resumed their investments in the financial market with a renewed ambition to improve their financial income while diversifying their investments.

In terms of issuance, sovereign bonds have largely taken precedence over corporates. The various WAEMU countries have raised several funds at the level of the capital market (financial and monetary), which explains the regularity of sovereign issues.

The posted rates are very popular with investors with closed operations with over-subscriptions despite the fundraising deadlines that have been significantly reduced on the financial market.

For IMS, March 2020 was a transition with the implementation of business continuity plans like the BRVM. Customers have been oriented towards digital means in order to encourage compliance with barrier gestures while maintaining the quality of service.

The volumes and values traded at the BRVM have not decreased compared to the same period of 2019, but particular attention is paid to the sectors impacted de facto.

The various WAEMU countries have set up business support funds and their actions are supported by the monetary authorities.

This pandemic, beyond the health crisis, underlies an economic crisis that leads all sectors of activity to more vigilance and analysis. Some are much more impacted than others, but we pay attention to the fact that sectors are correlated in one way or another.

What is important here is to have a better focus on your strategy and cash management. This period will demonstrate the resilience of our economies, and the various accompanying measures must be used optimally by companies.

More rigor in the management of action plans and a collective approach within companies for more convincing results are needed.

As far as cash flow is concerned, monitoring must be regular, as it is a question of generating substantial revenues to cover expenses more. We are working on aspects related to cash flow optimization since we are talking about the sustainability of the company, and cash flow control.

This ability to optimize the cash flow plan, and to be able to invest any excess cash on the best possible terms, in order to allow the company to generate additional revenues, is the subject of a strategic approach within the financial department with the support of the advisors that we are.

We saw this issue early on. CGF Bourse was the first SGI to open a commercial agency with a platform allowing its clients to access their online account 24 hours a day since 2012.

We have therefore had an interface with customers for eight years, long before the BRVM made the collection of data flows available to us.

These data flows from the BRVM have, it is true, allowed us to go further in terms of the availability of stock market information online.

Since then, we have improved this platform to allow our clients to be in possession of all the market information live, thus following the stock market quotation, and to have the possibility to initiate their orders online. This platform called CGF Access is also available in mobile version.

The other step that will follow is to allow any client to be able to carry out his trading operations and that they are passed on directly to the BRVM. This will allow IMS to offer what is known as the online scholarship.

So, I can say that we are already in favour of even greater digitalisation. Investments have been made and, together with our partners, we will go even further in the coming months.

In total, our clients also have CGF Access, a platform called CGF placement that even allows the transfer of money via several channels (mobile money, credit card ...).

We expect insurance companies listed by the BRVM as part of this second capital increase. To date, no insurance company is listed at the BRVM and it is not for lack of potential candidates.

Nevertheless, the SGI support them in the valuation of their companies, the search for investors in the context of capital opening operations by private placement.

The financial market is accessible to them and the first step of opening capital by private placement allows them to take the step of a more diversified shareholding, strengthened governance with the co-optation of new directors and choice of technical partners in some cases.

Companies will follow the path towards this opening to the general public, which does not exclude the maintenance of the majority of the capital with the basic shareholders and technical partners.

The public offering reinforces the company's reputation and allows access to resources at a lower cost, depending on the quality of the signature. This strategic choice is based on a strong shareholder will driven by an innovative vision.

Many small holders who have arrived on the stock market in the last five years are worried and are fleeing the stock market because their portfolios have lost almost 30% of their values. What is the reason for this?

First of all, it should be noted that not all sectors of activity have experienced continuous declines.

The decline in some values can be explained for several reasons combined, the most essential of which can be retained. First of all, the financial market rose sharply from 2012 to 2016.

We then had a succession of new IPOs, which led small holders to take profits in order to position themselves on these new operations.

Then, the market suffered a sell-off imbalance pulling several stocks down despite the publication of good results from most of these companies.

This period led to market inefficiency that led to the exit of some foreign investment funds that held significant shares in the free float of listed companies.

In the same period, the new texts of the BCEAO led banking groups, quite exposed on the financial market, to reduce their investments in the BRVM.

Finally, it should be remembered that stock market investment is based on a medium- and long-term savings ambition unless you are a speculator.

For small holders, the guidelines include debt securities (bonds, treasury bills) and diversified products such as mutual funds including bond mutual funds. These products, which are highly prized by the general public and legal entities, have the advantage of offering yield and flexibility.

The investor benefits from daily access to his liquidity while benefiting from the expertise of qualified managers.

The financial market is advancing but at a moderate pace. We are now 30 Management and Intermediation Companies (SGI) 22 UCITS Management Companies (SGO) and 10 Custodian Account Holding Banks (BTCC).

The number has increased, which commercial players continue to engage in our sector. It is high time to see all the actors who participated in the creation of this ambitious project that is the WAEMU regional market continue their work with high-impact actions.

States are expected to support our national champions to make them regional, able to compete with companies outside the continent.

States must work to open up the capital of companies, in particular profitable public companies to the general public. Any large-scale capital-intensive operation must challenge them at the highest level in order to support the sharing of financial benefits as widely as possible.

Our institutions are able to carry the development of the secondary market, positioning themselves according to opportunities and being at the initiative of dedicated products.

The entire capital market ecosystem must pursue actions based on the synergy of actors to bring even higher the achievements of our formidable Community tool that is the regional financial market.