-
A new startup dubbed Market Atlas, a financial terminal that uses big data, graph search, and real-time information sources to improve emerging market investment decisions aim to help hedge funds, private equity firms, and impact investors make better decisions in Africa.Speaking to TechMoran, Justin Mahwikizi, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Market Atlas said, “We at Market Atlas saw a vision of an Africa with robust and deep markets serving domestic, intra-Africa, and foreign investors to help them meet their long term financial objectives.”
“After realizing of serious gaps in data coverage by the world’s leading data providers, we seized the opportunity to participate in making a market for African equity, commodity markets, fixed income, and foreign exchange markets through a differentiated and intuitive platform built by folks who have been part of trading desks at the biggest banks in the world,” he added.
According to the firm, 53.3% of senior investment professionals agree that ‘lack of information’ is the primary deterrent keeping them from considering African companies as investment opportunities. The firm aims to fill the information gap by capturing, analyzing, and vetting data on African companies. Stock market capitalization in Africa is worth around $1.05 trillion yet Africa only controls less than 3% of global GDP though it has 15% of the world’s population.Using big data, graph search, and real-time data, Market Atlas aims to help hedge funds, private equity firms, and investors make better decisions in multiple African industries and indices.
“What inspired me to start Market Atlas is my upbringing in Africa that had me visit Rwanda, Tanzania, and Kenya. I saw how these places were similar and yet separated. I always wondered if there was a way to link and connect them through a standardized language that allowed them to collaborate and make many economic decisions at the individual level. I found that answer in the language of mathematics, the framework of technology, and the playing field of the financial markets for the whole Africa continent,” he concludes.