Osinbajo: Digital innovations at NGX will attract tech unicorns to capital market

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo says digital innovations by the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) will attract technology unicorns to embrace the capital market as a viable source of capital raising.

Flutterwave, Jumia, and Andela are some of the tech unicorns in Nigeria.

Osinbajo said this on Tuesday at the hybrid inaugural NGX capital market conference with the theme: “The Future Ready Capital Market: Innovating for Nigeria’s Sustainable Recovery,” held in Abuja.

He commended the NGX for focusing on digital transformation through youth inclusion, bringing a new crop of investors who used only their smartphones. 

“Every investor, at least all smart investors, must now be looking at how to become a part of the miracle of the Nigerian unicorns — the about 7 indigenous Nigerian companies that became billion-dollar enterprises since 2015 in the midst of two recessions,” he said. 

“Many times over, we can replace our fifty to sixty investors many times over now with a new population of much younger people.”

Osinbajo, who commended the NGX for its achievements, said that, amid the challenges, a new era of the capital market was birthed. 

“Today, the huge retail outlets created by the telecommunications companies with well over a 100 million subscribers and wide reach of banks, especially with the numerous financial inclusion that has been made within the past few years,” he added. 

“Probably put us at the most auspicious moment for digitising the capital market to bring in millions of young retail investors.

“I think it is notable that you are already leveraging on your existing digital platforms to enable access to data and to enhance investor decisions.”

Speaking further, Osinbajo said that there was still room for the NGX to advance the exchange for international competitiveness.

Temi Popoola, chief executive officer, said the NGX was leveraging technologies for its operations and had not held any physical trading for almost two years.

Popoola said that the exchange encouraged retail investors so that the market would accommodate a wide range of investors and not just a few. 

He described the exchange as a place to create wealth for a wider population, ‘and to do this, we will be leveraging emerging trends.’

Abdul Rabiu, chairman of BUA Cement, said the conference was timely as it would provide discussions on ways to address the infrastructural gaps in Nigeria and bolster the economy, using the capital market as a veritable vehicle.

On his part, Ibikunle Amosun, chairman, senate committee on capital market, said that a country with a booming capital market would be economically productive, socially responsible, and politically stable.

Amosun urged stakeholders to be on guard to make the capital market a centre for investments, thereby guaranteeing economic development and growth.