The Efficiency of African Financial Markets Tested Through the EGX30, MASI, NSE, and GSE Stock Indices

Authors

  • Dr. MBA NEGEANT Jores Berby UNIVERSITY OF DOUALA , University of Douala image/svg+xml
  • Pr MFOUAPON Georges Kriyoss University of Douala image/svg+xml

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.59051/joaf.v17i1.1003

Keywords:

Volatility, Financial Market, Efficiency, Composite Indices

Abstract

Purpose: Long overlooked in the financial literature, this study addresses the issue of financial market efficiency in Africa. It seeks to evaluate and comparatively analyse the weak-form efficiency of these markets, using their composite indices over the period from 2014 to 2024.

Methodology: To this end, a robust methodological framework is employed, combining volatility analysis and its persistence, stationarity testing, and the random walk hypothesis.

Results: The findings, derived from composite index data of four African financial markets (Egypt, Morocco, Ghana, and Nigeria), reveal that these markets are gradually and significantly evolving towards greater efficiency.

Originality: These results indicate that the recent regulatory and legal reforms implemented within these economies are strengthening the financial governance of their markets and enhancing the integration of African countries into global trade networks.

From a managerial perspective, the study recommends that investors should adopt long-term hedging strategies in response to the persistence of market shocks, alongside dynamic strategies to anticipate sudden fluctuations. Regulators on the other hand, should reinforce transparency, liquidity, and institutional reforms to reduce structural frictions and consolidate market efficiency.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

  • Dr. MBA NEGEANT Jores Berby, UNIVERSITY OF DOUALA, University of Douala

    Jores Berby MBA NEGEANT is a researcher in Management Sciences. He holds a Doctorate in Business Administration and has been preparing a PhD dissertation since 2022 at the Faculty of Applied Economics and Management Sciences of the University of Douala.

    He serves as a teaching assistant for several academic courses in higher education institutions and works with various private Cameroonian companies as a consultant in accounting control and taxation. He is the author and co-author of several published scientific articles.

    His research focuses on finance and financial market efficiency, corporate finance, IFRS adoption, accounting strategies, the informational content of accounting figures, and taxation.

  • Pr MFOUAPON Georges Kriyoss, University of Douala

    Georges Kriyoss MFOUAPON is an Associate Professor of Management Sciences. Since July 2021, he has served as Head of the Department of Finance and Accounting at the Faculty of Applied Economics and Management Sciences of the University of Douala.

    He is the coordinator of the research team on the competitiveness of African organizations and is the author and co-author of around twenty scientific articles published in internationally recognized journals.

    His research focuses on the governance of African organizations, board effectiveness, control coalitions, IFRS adoption, accounting strategies, the informational content of accounting figures, shareholder wealth, and firm performance.

References

Ahmed, S. (2018). Testing the Weak-Form Efficiency of the Dhaka Stock Exchange. Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, 5(3), 5-13.

Babin, B., & Anderson, R. (2019). Multivariate Data Analysis (8th ed.). Pearson.

Bachelier, L. (1900). Théorie de la spéculation. Annales Scientifiques de l’École Normale Supérieure.

Bekaert, G., & Harvey, C. R. (2002). Research in Emerging Markets Finance: Looking to the Future. Emerging Markets Review, 3(4), 429-448.

Biekpe, N. (2011). The Efficiency of African Stock Markets. Journal of African Business, 12(1), 12-27.

Bollerslev, T. (1986). Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity. Journal of Econometrics, 31(3), 307-327.

Bryman, A., & Bell, E. (2015). Business Research Methods (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Creswell, W. (2014). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. Sage Publications.

Dickey, D. A., & Fuller, W. A. (1979). Distribution of the Estimators for Autoregressive Time Series with a Unit Root. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 74(366), 427-431.

Doreen, S. (2012). Market Efficiency and Anomalies: Evidence from the Ghana Stock Exchange. Journal of Finance and Investment Analysis, 1(2), 45-58.

Faisal, A. (2019). Efficiency of Emerging Financial Markets: Evidence from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region. International Journal of Financial Studies, 7(2), 25.

Fama, E. F. (1970). Efficient Capital Markets: A Review of Theory and Empirical Work. Journal of Finance, 25(2), 383-417.

Fama, E. F., & French, K. R. (1992). The Cross-Section of Expected Stock Returns. Journal of Finance, 47(2), 427-465.

Fama, E. F., & French, K. R. (2004). The Capital Asset Pricing Model: Theory and Evidence. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 18(3), 25-46.

Fama, E. F. (2001). Market Efficiency, Long-Term Returns, and Behavioral Finance. Journal of Financial Economics, 49(3), 283-306.

Fisher, A. (1925). Statistical Methods for Research Workers. Oliver and Boyd.

Hamilton, J. D. (1994). Time Series Analysis. Princeton University Press.

La Porta, R., Lopez-de-Silanes, F., Shleifer, A., & Vishny, R. W. (1999). The Quality of Government. Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, 15(1), 222-279.

La Porta, R., Lopez-de-Silanes, F., Shleifer, A., & Vishny, R. W. (1998). Law and Finance. Journal of Political Economy, 106(6), 1113-1155.

Lo, A. W., & MacKinlay, A. C. (1988). Stock Market Prices Do Not Follow Random Walks: Evidence from a Simple Specification Test. Review of Financial Studies, 1(1), 41-66.

Magnusson, L., & Wydick, B. (2002). How Efficient Are Africa’s Emerging Stock Markets? Journal of Development Studies, 38(4), 141-156.

Mba Negeant Jores B., & Nguefack Azangue Pesos, A. (2023). La problématique de la cotation boursière : Une étude menée dans le contexte camerounais. Journal of Academic Finance, 14(2), 50-64. https://doi.org/10.59051/joaf.v14i2.677

Mohamed, B. (2018). L’efficience des marchés financiers. Revue des Sciences Commerciales, 253-264.

Mohamed, H., Elsayed, K., & Elgiziry, K. (2018). Market Efficiency in Emerging Markets: Evidence from the Egyptian Stock Exchange. Research in International Business and Finance, 45, 491-500.

Mohamed, K. (2018). L’efficience informationnelle des marchés financiers : Étude théorique et validation empirique sur la Bourse d’Alger. Revue des Sciences Commerciales, 186-200.

N’guessan, T. (2015). Efficiency of West African Financial Markets: Evidence from the BRVM. International Journal of Economics and Finance, 7(3), 123-134.

Phillips, P. C. B., & Perron, P. (1988). Testing for a Unit Root in Time Series Regression. Biometrika, 75(2), 335-346.

Said, S., & Dickey, D. A. (1984). Testing for Unit Roots in Autoregressive-Moving Average Models of Unknown Order. Biometrika, 71(3), 599-607.

Samuelson, P. A. (1965). Proof that Properly Anticipated Prices Fluctuate Randomly. Industrial Management Review, 6(2), 41-49.

Saunders, M., & Thornhill, A. (2016). Research Methods for Business Students. Pearson.

Saunders, M., & Thornhill, A. (2019). Research Methods for Business Students (8th ed.). Pearson.

Smith, G., & Ryoo, S. (2002). African Stock Markets: Multiple Variance Ratio Tests of Random Walks. Applied Financial Economics, 12(7), 475-484.

Tesfaye, A. (2016). Testing the Weak-Form Efficiency of the Ethiopian Stock Market. African Journal of Economic and Management Studies, 7(4), 456-468.

Thomas Delcey. (2019). Samuelson vs Fama: The Efficient Market Hypothesis: The Point of View of Expertise. Œconomia - History/Methodology/Philosophy, 9(1), 37-58.

Yartey, C. A., & Adjasi, C. K. D. (2007). Stock Market Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: Critical Issues and Challenges. IMF Working Paper, WP/07/209.

Published

2026-08-02

How to Cite

The Efficiency of African Financial Markets Tested Through the EGX30, MASI, NSE, and GSE Stock Indices. (2026). Journal of Academic Finance, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.59051/joaf.v17i1.1003

Similar Articles

1-10 of 121

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.

Most read articles by the same author(s)