From Uche Usim, Abuja

Vice President, Prof Yemi Osibanjo, former Central Bank of Nigeria CBN Governor, Mr Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Senate President Ahmed Lawan, Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila and a host other eminent personalities have canvassed for digitisation of Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) and increased collaboration among key players in the nation’s economy, towards driving productive investments that would accelerate an elevated and digitized capital market.

They made the call on Tuesday in Abuja at the maiden edition of the NGX capital markets conference themed: “The Future Ready Capital Markets; Innovating for Nigeria’s Sustainable Recovery”.

The event brought together leading policymakers, financial experts, business leaders, investors, international development partners and regulators, led by  Osinbajo and provided a platform to share insights and broaden the thinking needed for greater capital flows through innovative sources of financing for the capital market.

In his remarks, the Vice President stated that, “every smart investor must be looking now at how to be a part of the miracle of the Nigerian Unicorns, the about five or six indigenous Nigerian companies (driven by young Nigerians) that became billion-dollar enterprises since 2015 in the midst of two recessions.”

The Vice President, who emphasized the digital transformation of the markets, highlighted the many opportunities this move would provide for the capital markets, which includes bringing in more young investors.

He advised the adoption of technology “to bring in a new crop of young investors, many of who use their smartphones primarily for engaging with commerce and banking activities today. And you have commendably begun the journey to the digital transformation of the market, following the highly successful example of the banks and, of course, the telcos.”

The VP added, “today, the huge retail outlets already created by the telcos with well over a hundred million subscribers, the wide reach of banks, especially with the numerous financial inclusion initiatives, make this probably the most auspicious moment for digitizing the capital market to bring in the millions of new young retail investors.”

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Urging the NGX to see itself as a critical player in the AfCFTA negotiations, the VP added that “we are at a point where we are looking at negotiating Service Rules, we have looked at Rules of Origin already, so this is the time to come into play to get the best deals possible from all our partners all across Africa.”

Prof. Osinbajo also pointed out that the Government-backed N15 trillion Infrastructure Fund being set up in partnership with the private sector will further help to bridge infrastructure gaps.

The VP observed that despite a significant withdrawal of foreign investors and domestic institutional participation in 2021, “the NGX in 2020 was the highest performing exchange with a return of 50% on the All-Share Index, when compared with 98 other exchanges tracked globally by Bloomberg.”

Also speaking after the conference, the Chief Executive Officer, NGX, Mr. Temi Popoola expressed his excitement about the deliberations, outcomes and agreed way forward by key speakers and panelists. He said,  “as a major propeller of the economy, we are proud to be at the forefront of this milestone which is a defining moment for Nigeria’s finance sector and the capital market specifically. The long list of key stakeholders from the public and private sector in attendance at today’s conference shows how open NGX is to leveraging relationships and partnerships to advance its digital transformation agenda”.

“Taking this forward, NGX will continue to deepen and increase access to financial services for Nigeria through technology while championing the infrastructural development and the economic growth of the country” Temi assured.

Held as a hybrid event, the inaugural capital market conference featured a long list of policy makers and business leaders across the public and private sectors in the country.

Present at the event were; Chairman, BUA Group, Alhaji Abdul Samad Rabiu, Chairman of the Conference; Senate President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator, Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, represented by the Senator Ibikunle Amosun, Chairman, Senate Committee on Capital Market; Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Executive Governor, Ekiti State and Chairman Nigeria’s Governors Forum; Mr. Godwin Obaseki, Executive Governor, Edo State; Malam Nasir El-Rufai, Executive Governor, Kaduna State; Group Chairman, Nigerian Exchange Group Plc, Mr Abimbola Ogunbanjo; Chairman, NGX, Mr. Abubakar Balarabe Mahmoud, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Chairman, Coronation Capital; Mr. Oscar N. Onyema, Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, NGX Group Plc;  Mrs. Cathrine Echeozo, Director, Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO); and the Honourable Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, (Dr) Zainab Ahmed,  among others.