GTCO’s move marked the first time a Nigerian bank owner went public on the LSE.

Tracey Austin, a senior director at the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) responsible for financial and professional services, said the UK is working to rebrand London as more than just a place to do business.

“The UK is trying to be more inventive to sell London as a financial services center from where companies can attract global capital, not just a place to do business in and leave,” she told Semafor.

Over the past four years, DBT has collaborated with advisory firms to build a pipeline of African companies with listing potential.

The department has also hosted forums with African private equity and venture capital funds, pitching London as a quicker route to raising capital compared with waiting years to achieve billion-dollar “unicorn” valuations.

A key selling point has been the LSE’s revised listing rules, introduced last year, which require firms to give up a smaller share of equity in order to qualify for a listing.

So far, outreach has focused on pan-African firms and tech-driven businesses, with rising interest in artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and clean technology.

Austin noted that North Africa, particularly Tunisia, is emerging as a hub for AI and deep-tech startups thanks to a strong foundation in science and engineering education. Ghana, Tanzania, Nigeria, and South Africa are also producing promising ventures that could benefit from London’s capital markets.

London’s appeal lies not only in its regulatory reforms but also in its established ecosystem of brokers and analysts who specialize in African equities, providing expertise that few other global financial centers can match.

While Wall Street exchanges remain larger in scale, London continues to position itself as the most accessible market for African firms seeking international exposure.