NGX digital investment platform gets SEC approval

• Published On: 14 July 2024 at 21:28

The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the Nigerian Exchange Group's Invest, a digital platform for streamlining public offerings and rights issues in the capital markets.

In a statement made accessible to Nigerianwatch, the NGX announced that the platform was now operational, offering an efficient, convenient, and seamless experience for conducting primary market transactions.

It asserted that the platform was based on the success of the country's first digital public offering in 2021, which drew over 150,000 new retail investors, 75 percent of whom were female and 85 percent under the age of 40.

It stated that the platform sought to improve transparency and accessibility in primary market transactions.


According to NGX, the introduction of Invest coincides with the Central Bank of Nigeria's financial recapitalisation directive, which has resulted in several subscription offers and rights announcements from Nigerian banks.

The organization revealed that Access Holdings, FCMB Group, and Fidelity Bank were using the NGX Invest APIs to promote their offers to individual investors, with more banks joining.

The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Emomotimi Agama, praised the effort, saying, "The e-offering platform fully matches with our goal of future-proofing the Nigerian capital market. We promote a more efficient, transparent, and inclusive capital market by digitizing and automating financial intermediation operations. Our goal is to create an enabling regulatory framework that supports innovation while maintaining compliance and investor safety."


Umaru Kwairanga, Group Chairman of NGX Group, thanked the regulator, stating, "The supportive regulatory environment has provided a solid foundation that enabled the platform's rapid delivery." This demonstrates our joint commitment to market development and will surely help to increase individual investors' involvement in the capital market."

He went on to say that Nigeria's economic progress would require the integration of technology, solid partnerships, and collaboration, as well as a constructive policy climate.

Temi Popoola, NGX Group's Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, also expressed enthusiasm for the new platform, emphasizing its importance in the company's digital transformation path as well as its ability to improve market access and stimulate economic growth.

"We sincerely thank the SEC and CBN for their tremendous support and leadership. Our intermediaries and partners, particularly the Central Securities Clearing System, have played critical roles in attaining this success. "This platform demonstrates our commitment to innovation and strengthening Nigeria's capital markets, especially as we support the banking sector's recapitalization efforts," he stated.

Furthermore, Jude Chiemeka, CEO of NGX, emphasized the platform's disruptive potential, stating, "NGX Invest meets the desire for a more efficient and transparent procedure in managing public offers and rights concerns.

Jude indicated that the platform would speed up reconciliation and allotment processes, eliminate unclaimed dividends, and increase investor confidence.

"All stakeholders - including investors, registrars, issuing houses, brokers, banks, and regulators stand to benefit significantly from this innovation," Jude told me.