Investing in African stocks from Canada

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• Every source was read on 30 September 2026. Terms change: check them with the provider before you act.

The simplest route runs through US-listed securities, which a Canadian brokerage account can hold. TD Direct Investing, for one, says you can avoid conversion fees “by trading US dollar securities using the US dollar component of your account”. (source: TD, cash account)

US-listed exchange-traded funds cover African shares. The VanEck Africa Index ETF (AFK), on NYSE Arca since 2008, tracks the MVIS GDP Africa Index. (source: VanEck fact sheet, PDF) The iShares MSCI South Africa ETF (EZA), on NYSE Arca, tracks the MSCI South Africa 25/50 Index. (source: iShares)

A few JSE companies also have depositary receipts in New York. Gold Fields, for example, is listed on the JSE and its American Depositary Receipts trade on the NYSE, each equal to one ordinary share. (source: Gold Fields, 2025 annual financial report, PDF)

What these leave out (how concentrated the funds are, how few companies have receipts) is on How to buy African stocks from abroad.

Canada’s large brokerages publish the overseas exchanges they take orders on. RBC Direct Investing’s list names exchanges in sixteen countries, London among them, and no African exchange; it adds that other exchanges “may be available” by phone. (source: RBC Direct Investing)

Two other brokerages many Canadians use say what they do not offer. Wealthsimple lists “stocks and ETFs that trade on non-North American exchanges” among what cannot be bought there. (source: Wealthsimple) Questrade offers international stocks as CFDs, contracts on a price rather than the shares themselves. (source: Questrade)

We found no broker that accepts Canadian residents confirming, on its own pages, that it trades the JSE directly. So we name none: ask the broker, in writing.

NGX says a foreign investor must appoint a stockbroker holding an NGX trading licence to open an account and trade, and holds the shares at CSCS, the central depository, through that broker or through a local custodian they appoint. (source: NGX, Becoming an investor)

Nigeria’s non-resident Bank Verification Number (NRBVN) is issued to Nigerian citizens living abroad and to people of Nigerian descent, with evidence that a parent is a Nigerian citizen. (source: NIBSS) If you are not of Nigerian origin, ask the broker what it accepts instead.

The page says nothing about conditions for residents of Canada: ask the broker. For the Dangote refinery IPO, the prospectus says the offer is not being made in Canada, except where it provides otherwise (see our page on the offer).

Only licensed SGIs (sociétés de gestion et d’intermédiation) may trade on the BRVM. To invest, the BRVM says to open a securities account with an approved intermediary, and it publishes the list of SGIs. (source: BRVM, Comment investir (French)) (source: list of SGIs)

The BRVM does not state the conditions for someone living outside the West African monetary union. Ask the SGI before you send money.

• A qualified investment for a TFSA includes “securities listed on a designated stock exchange”. (source: CRA, TFSA definitions) The list of designated exchanges, published by the Department of Finance, includes the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, and neither the NGX nor the BRVM. (source: Finance Canada)
• Form T1135 is required when the total cost of your specified foreign property exceeds $100,000 at any time in the year. Shares of non-resident corporations count, even held through a Canadian broker; property held in an RRSP or a TFSA is excluded. (source: CRA, questions and answers about Form T1135)

To check whether a firm or a person is registered with Canada’s securities regulators, the Canadian Securities Administrators point to their search: aretheyregistered.ca.