# ICT Adoption and Stock Market Development: Empirical Evidence Using a Panel of African Countries
## 1 Introduction  
Developments in ICT have affected livelihoods and various other aspects of human activities and interactions in the last few decades. The world has transformed into what could aptly be described as an information society (IS) in virtually all human activities, with ICT as the main driver of the transformation process ([PERSON] and [PERSON], 2011). Further, they contended that the transformation force has permeated all strata of human settings, such as households, firms and governments at the local, regional, national and international levels. This assertion by [PERSON] and [PERSON] (2011) clearly indicates that ICT plays a very vital role in every sphere of our daily lives. The role that the Internet and mobile phones currently play in every human interaction can never be overemphasised. Among the aspects of human activities and interactions that have been tremendously affected by ICT is the development of African stock markets. This was reflected in a study of stock markets development and integration in South African Development Community (SADC) member countries, carried out by [PERSON] (2017), that highlights the importance of ICT in stock market development. Furthermore, [PERSON] (2017) concluded that the SADC member states' stock exchanges must work towards a greater integration so that they can attract more capital portfolio flows. Moreover, [PERSON] (2017) also concluded that greater foreign direct investment (FDI) flows, which are much needed for the financial and economic development of the SADC countries in particular and Africa in general, will be attracted through greater stock market integration. Therefore, by implication, the study emphasised the importance of ICT adoption for the development of African stock markets. [PERSON] et al. (2019) assert that stock markets are considered as one of the most crucial aspects of a market economy, in the sense that, on the one hand, they make it possible for firms to gain access to capital. On the other hand, stock markets enable investors to have a share of ownership in the listed firm, based on the firm's expected performance in the future. According to [PERSON] et al. (2013), the stock market is considered as one of the most crucial aspects of a financial system. This is in light of the fact that, through the stock market, listed firms can elicit capital by issuing their shares and at the same time bring about an environment through which the same issued shares can be freely traded by market participants. Hence, more recently, a growing strand of literature has focused on stock market development as the main factor for economic growth (see for instance [PERSON] 2018; [PERSON] 2017; [PERSON] 2016). More recently, studies in this realm have identified ICT as one of the determinants of stock market development. Notwithstanding the gains enjoyed by African stock markets in the last decade, African stock exchanges still face the challenge of integration, especially in the wake of the newly signed African free trade agreement. Moreover, there is need for building the technical requirements and developing institutional capacity to resolve the problem of low liquidity faced by most African stock exchanges ([PERSON] and [PERSON] 2007). Moreover, [PERSON] (2019) documented the following as some of the major pillars of global competitiveness: ICT adoption, macroeconomic stability and the financial system. Further, [PERSON] (2019) reported that sub-Saharan Africa recorded an increase of 15.8% in ICT adoption, while Europe and North America had an increase of 3.7% in ICT adoption. However, the corresponding increase in macroeconomic stability was 3.7% for sub-Saharan Africa while Europe and North America had an increase of 0.9%. Arguably, ICT adoption has a bearing on the financial system and by extension on global competitiveness. Investors, policymakers and market participants require adequate studies on the role of ICT adoption in stimulating stock market activity.