The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), Mr. Temi Popoola, has described the increasing adoption of technology in the Nigerian and other African countries capital markets’ transactions as a catalytic move aimed at boosting the growth of the capital markets in the continent.
Popoola, who made this remark during the West Africa Capital Market conference which held Wednesday, in Lagos, pointed out that as developments in the global investment space continued to show, improved investments in equities markets in Nigeria and other countries in Africa would create a strong foundation for stronger investment structures in the economies.
In his contribution during the panel with the theme “Digital Transformation and Infrastructure Development: Leveraging Technology Growth in ECOWAS Region,” Popoola stressed that technology can serve as a good building block for innovation in the capital market.
The NGX boss expatiated: “In December 2021, we had a landmark transaction through technology. It was a secondary share sale in our capital market. It was the first time in the history of our market where on a mobile phone end to end, shares could be bought by retail investors.
“Two weeks ago, with Second Stax- a Ghana based company, we facilitated the first ever transaction across borders in a Nigeria – Ghana bilateral trade.”
The NGX CEO said that these examples of technological innovation in the Nigerian bourse demonstrated how critical digital innovation can facilitate capital market growth.
Earlier in his remarks, the Chief Digital Officer, NGX, Olufemi Oyenuga, presented a paper on how the NGX had been utilizing digitalization to drive the operations of the exchange, pointing out that the sustained initiative has been trailed with unquantifiable benefits for investors, operators and the nation’s economy.
