Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen:
I am very pleased to welcome you to the FinTechNGR Social Meet 4.0, hosted by The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). As an active member of the association, it is an honor to be hosting colleagues and friends to another evening of interactions, deep discussions and expositions in a relaxed atmosphere after a long day’s work.
The theme of this event: “Growth Funding and Strategic Capital Raise – Extending Financial Inclusiveness through the Capital Market” is of particular interest to the Exchange due to its connection to our core function as a hub for accessing capital; it is also of key interest to the larger economy, particularly the business community of start-ups and SMEs. While we are focused on delivering on our mandate to be Africa’s Preferred Exchange Hub, the bigger picture is to create a dynamic marketplace that fuels growth and empowers our people towards excellence in business and ventures.
According to KPMG’s “2018 Global Analysis of Investment” equity investment into global FinTech companies almost tripled from $18.9 billion to $50.8 billion between 2013 and 2017; and has continued to gain traction. In Nigeria, FinTech offers the opportunity to deepen capital market activities and also achieve sustainable economic growth by: (i) empowering a larger portion of the populace to access financial services; (ii) unlocking efficiencies in product and service delivery for financial institutions; and (iii) increasing transparency and resilience of the Nigerian capital market and larger financial ecosystem.
These objectives are indeed at the heart of what we do at the Exchange.
The global picture of capital flow into FinTechs especially in emerging markets is proof that FinTechs are important economic catalysts in the 4th Industrial Revolution. Surprisingly, foreign investors seem to be seeing these gains better than local investors as statistics show that they have dominated capital raise for indigenous start-ups in the last couple of years.
At the NSE, one of our key strategies is the segmentation of our market with the introduction of a Growth Board to cater to companies with high growth prospects, including FinTechs emerging from Venture Capital management to a more mature management that would require public investment and corporate consolidation. This approach, in our opinion, would assist companies with high growth potential, leverage public finance for growth and expansion. Apart from this, we are also exploring alternative platforms to catalyse smart and innovative capital raise, leveraging new technologies like the Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT).
I am sure you will hear more about these initiatives as the evening proggreses. At this juncture, I will like to enjoin us all to see no borders but just horizons as we work together to revolutionize the ecosystem and catalyse growth in our businesses and our country at large.
I welcome you all once again and please enjoy your evening. Thank you.
