Nigerian bourse, Afrinvest, tech firm join forces to woo investors

SecondSTAX, a technology company, has announced a new partnership with the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) that will enable institutional investors from across Africa to directly invest into Nigeria’s capital markets.

The new partnership was established in close collaboration with Afrinvest (West Africa) Limited, a capital market holding company in Nigeria, the tech firm said in a statement on Monday.

The joint effort will make it easier for licensed broker-dealers, asset managers, large commercial banks and other institutional investors from across the continent to invest in Nigeria’s bourse via SecondSTAX’s cloud-based portal.

“Investors will also be able to invest in their native currencies, making a wider range of assets and opportunities available to more Africans and creating an efficient route to increased wealth on the continent,” the statement said.

It said the partnership will also make it easier for institutional investors from Nigeria to invest into other capital markets that are available on the SecondSTAX platform.

“Following the NGX launch, access to the service will initially be restricted to qualified institutional Investors who are able to place minimum trade orders of USD 10,000.00 (or the equivalent value in NGN). Over time, this limit will be reduced to extend services to other customers,” the statement said.

The CEO and co-founder of SecondSTAX, Eugene Tawiah, said: “Nigeria’s capital markets are full of lucrative opportunities that have until now been out of reach to institutional investors outside the country. 

“At the same time, Nigeria’s institutional investors have largely found it challenging to invest into other capital markets across the continent. This partnership addresses both problems and we are excited to see how investors take advantage of the opportunities that abound across the continent.”

The CEO, Nigerian Exchange Limited,Temi Popoola, commended SecondSTAX for its move to drive institutional investments across Africa. 

“At NGX, we remain committed to fostering inclusive growth and are open to collaborating with more capital market innovators to stimulate participation and investment in the Nigerian and African capital market. We look forward to the opportunities this partnership with SecondSTAX will unlock and the positive impact it will have on the continent,” he said.

The Group Managing Director of Afrinvest, Ike Chioke, said, “We are delighted to be in partnership with SecondSTAX to enable more opportunities to drive capital inflows into Nigeria’s capital markets and increase investment options for investors in Nigeria.”