The Internet gave people around the world do access everything very easily. One of the fields that got a lot from the development of the internet was Forex trading. A few decades ago, the boom of online Forex trading started, and as of today, it is still developing at a very fast scale.
As of today, Forex trading is accessible to people who have never had access to this market ever before. One of the places where the field is developing very fast is Africa. Many people think that because the region does not have as developed financial markets as many other regions have, the FX trading will not be successful here. However, Africa showed the whole world that if you take the right steps, and if you know your market well, you will be able to create a very rewarding environment for Forex trading.
Today, Africa is known to be a place where Forex trading is developing very fast. The market is accessible for many countries in the region and the number of people interested in it is growing very fast. To support this development, many countries had to come up with a regulatory framework to further develop the field of Forex.
Although the regulatory bodies in the region are not as strong and strict as in other regions, they still offer a very good environment for FX trading. However, if you are thinking about starting trading in Africa, you will have to do very intensive research to make sure that you are not being scammed.
What are the best FX brokers in Africa?
In the last few years, Africa became one of the top destinations for Forex brokers to start their businesses. This is happening for many reasons, but probably one of the main reseasons is that the financial market in the region is still in its developing stages, which gives brokers the ability to easily become dominant companies there.
However, it is still very hard to find the best Forex broker because of so many scam brokers doing their business in the region. To avoid scammers, you need to be sure that you are trading with FX brokers that own both, international and local regulations. To help you out, we have done very intensive research and came up with the list of the best FX brokers in Africa that will offer you a safe and secure environment, so, do not hesitate to start trading with one of these FX brokers.
AvaTrade
Minimum deposit
100 USD
Licences
ASIC , FSC, FSCA, FSA, FFAJ, FSRA
Maximum leverage
400:1
Platforms
MT4, MT5
HotForex
Minimum deposit
5 USD
Licences
FCA, FSA, DFSA, FSCA
Maximum leverage
1:1000
Platforms
MT5, MT4, WebTrader
Plus500
Minimum deposit
$100
Licences
FCA, ASIC, CySEC, FSCA, FMA, MAS
Maximum leverage
1:30
Platforms
WebTrader
IQ Option
Minimum deposit
$10
Licences
CySEC, FSA
Maximum leverage
1:30
Platforms
Web
Forex trading in Africa – Country guides
To help you out, we have created dedicated pages for different countries in the region for Forex trading. With this, you will be able to learn more about different jurisdictions in the region and their offerings for FX traders. If you are one of these countries we recommended checking out our guides to make sure that you can stay as safe as possible while trading Forex in Africa.
While working on these guides, we made sure that we could offer you information that can change your trading experience. So, do not hesitate and read these guides to make sure that you are trading with the right Forex broker in Africa.
Forex trading regulatory framework in Africa – How safe is it?
One of the most important parts of successful Forex trading is the regulations. Regulations are something that creates a safe and secure environment both for traders and brokers. We have seen many times that regulations can change the trading environment and we would recommend to everyone to only trade with brokers that are authorized and licensed by official regulatory bodies around the world.
The thing about Forex trading is that there always is some type of danger associated with it, there are many scam companies, not the market that is trying to find ways to lie to people and get their money legally. In addition, even if an unregulated broker does its job with honesty, there always is a great chance that they might at some point get bankrupt and what happens to the traders in this case? Without regulations, there is simply nothing that traders can do to get their funds back, and they will end up losing all of their investments out of nowhere.
Africa, sadly, lacks a good regulatory framework that creates a very dangerous environment for Forex traders in the region. This leads to many problems, including traders losing all of their money, and in the end, it affects the development of the whole Forex market.
In recent years, most o the countries in Africa decided to change their laws regarding Forex trading and started to become stricter than ever before. After many years and many challenges, as of today, the Forex trading market in Africa is changing a lot. However, this does not mean that there are no problems. Actually, there are a number of them, but the thing is that the leadership of African countries is trying to do everything to overcome these challenges and this has the potential of creating a very safe and secure trading environment in the region.
How did the regulatory framework change in Africa?
Recently, one of the countries that showed a huge development in the field of Forex in South Africa. This country managed to have amazing progress in terms of Forex regulations. Most of these changes happened because of the establishment of the main regulatory body of South Africa, known as the Financial Sector Conduct Authority, FSCA.
This regulatory body has changed the environment in the country so much that as of today, South Africa is considered to be one of the best places in the region for Forex trading. Because of the effective and well tough out regulations and restrictions, South Africa’s FX trading market became very transparent and trustworthy.
How do regulations work in the region?
Generally, the regulatory framework in the region is very different in every country. However, there are some things that they have in common. In Africa, because of the fact that many countries do not have regulatory bodies, it is very common to function with the help of international regulatory bodies. As of today, there are many of them very actively working for bettering the financial situation in regions like Africa.
One of the FX regulatory agencies that are not based in Africa but are very popular among African FX brokers is Cyprus’s main regulatory body, CySEC. This regulatory body is very popular around the world and unlike many other regulatory bodies in Europe, CySEC is not that harsh when it comes to regulations. It follows the main guidelines of MiFID, which means that CySEC offers FX trading regulations that are on the same level as the European regulatory framework is, however, unlike others in Europe, CySEC seems to be less harsh when it comes to fines.
For those who are planning to trade with internationally regulated FX brokers, we would like to recommend to try their best to find the brokers that also own local licenses, since it is a lot safer to trade with a broker that is registered in your country of origin.
Forex trading in Africa – Should you try it?
It is not a huge surprise that the trading market in Africa is not as developed as it is in other regions of the world. However, this does not mean that you should avoid trading in the region altogether.
In reality, we believe that because of the fact that the field is still developing int the region, it can actually offer you great opportunities. Because of the steps taken countries like South Africa, the reputation of Forex trading in the region is growing a lot and it seems like because of this hard work, the region is creating an environment that can be very useful for African Forex traders.
