Toolkit for Securities Regulators in Africa Institutional Capacity Assessment (ICA)

The 'Toolkit for Securities Regulators in Africa Institutional Capacity Assessment (ICA)' is a guide designed to help capital market regulators in emerging markets systematically identify and address institutional gaps. It introduces the DAART framework (Define, Align, Assemble, Respect, Tailor) to ensure that capacity assessments and subsequent strengthening programmes are pragmatic, sensitive to market signals, and aligned with the specific stage of a country's market development.

• Capital market regulators in emerging markets face a dual mandate of supervising existing markets and developing new ones, often while contending with systemic challenges such as outdated legal frameworks, political interference, and limited financial and technological resources.
• The toolkit proposes the DAART approach to manage Institutional Capacity Assessments (ICA) and Institutional Capacity Strengthening (ICS) programmes. This framework consists of five pillars: Defining success based on market stage, Aligning with stakeholders, Assembling appropriate resources, Respecting sensitivities to avoid negative market signals, and Tailoring the approach for actionable results.
• The definition of regulatory success is dependent on the market's developmental stage. For example, nascent markets like Rwanda focus on building regulatory foundations, while emerging markets like Kenya focus on deepening markets to build liquidity and efficiency.
• A comprehensive ICA evaluates five primary domains of a regulator's capacity: technical capacity (mandate and enforcement), institutional framework (structure and risk management), human resources (recruitment and growth), financial management (sustainability and auditing), and IT and systems capacity (hardware and data analytics).
• To ensure the ICA is effective and implemented, regulators must establish internal ownership through board-level buy-in, staff engagement, and the designation of internal champions at executive and technical levels.
• Because emerging market regulators often lack the funds to implement ICA recommendations, the toolkit suggests creating a 'pitch deck' to secure funding and technical assistance from external actors by outlining prioritised gaps, practical solutions, and specific implementation timelines.

APA

FSD Africa (2022). Toolkit for Securities Regulators in Africa Institutional Capacity Assessment (ICA). https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ICA-ICS-Toolkit-Final-Version.pdf

Chicago

FSD Africa. Toolkit for Securities Regulators in Africa Institutional Capacity Assessment (ICA). 2022. https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ICA-ICS-Toolkit-Final-Version.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=FSD Africa |title=Toolkit for Securities Regulators in Africa Institutional Capacity Assessment (ICA) |date=July 2022 |url=https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ICA-ICS-Toolkit-Final-Version.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{fsdafrica2022toolkit, author = {{FSD Africa}}, title = {{Toolkit for Securities Regulators in Africa Institutional Capacity Assessment (ICA)}}, institution = {FSD Africa}, year = {2022}, month = jul, url = {https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ICA-ICS-Toolkit-Final-Version.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }