Nigeria’s financial ecosystem is rapidly
evolving with the introduction of ...
increasingly disruptive financial
products and services. As the world moves to more sophisticated
financial instruments, the need to pay closer attention to the 36.8% of
Nigeria’s population that remain financially excluded becomes more
poignant. This is particularly important because the impact of financial
exclusion traps individuals in a cycle of poverty and constitutes a
drag to economic growth and development.
While the problem of financial exclusion
has been identified across several discourse, the importance of
financial literacy in liberating the financially excluded should be
emphasised even more. This is further underscored by the pervasiveness
of various myths that exist about investing.
First, investing has been perceived to
be the preserve of the wealthy. Fortunately, a plethora of investment
products and services have come into the Nigerian market over the years
that allow investors of various income classes to invest in the capital
market. With as little as N5,000, an investor can now gain access to the
Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) Savings Bond – a product introduced
to the market by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in collaboration
with the Debt Management Office in 2017.
Second and third in the series of common
myths about investment are that it is unduly risky, and that the
fundamentals are too complex to understand. This is however not the
case. Concerted efforts have been made in recent times by regulators and
other capital market stakeholders to promote transparency and easy
access to information about investment products. It has been widely
accepted that inclusive growth can only occur when more people
participate in the financial markets. For this to happen, individuals
must not only have the right information on available financial products
and services, but also understand the concepts well enough to make
informed decisions.
In light of the above, the NSE recently
launched the maiden edition of StockTown, a comic book aimed at
promoting financial literacy in Nigeria. Available in both print and
digital formats, the comic book has been distributed across the six
geopolitical zones with a provision for readers to download the book via
http://www.nse-stocktown.com.
StockTown makes use of illustrated
characters to educate readers of all ages about the importance of
savings and investment. In its first issue, readers are introduced to
Mora Johnson and her middle-class family who are experiencing financial
hardship that pushes Mora to want to learn more about investment and
financial independence. The story has been scripted to address personal
finance issues that are common to a significant proportion of the
population, while simplifying investment terms and process, and
highlighting the various investment products that are appropriate for
investors with different investment objectives, risk appetites and
income levels.
Commenting on the comic book, Oscar N.
Onyema, OON, Chief Executive Officer, NSE said, “StockTown is a product
of a passionate idea long held by the Exchange to empower individuals
across all levels to make good financial decisions and better their
lives now and in the future. In a steadily evolving financial landscape,
The Exchange continues to find new ways to communicate the ideas of
saving and investment using products available on its platform. We hope
this comic, which demonstrates the idea of buy and selling securities in
simple terms, can crowd-in the financially excluded, millennials and
all lovers of comics.”
The launch of StockTown builds on the
Exchange’s strong commitment to promoting financial literacy in Nigeria.
Annually, the Exchange implements various initiatives targeted at
children and youths, aimed at building a financially savvy generation.
The Exchange commemorates Global Money Week by hosting a workshop for
youths at its offices and conducting outreach programmes in cities where
it operates. In 2019, it reached over 60,000 youths during the weeklong
programme.
In line with this commitment, The
Exchange hosted a series of workshops this year to educate the market
and promote the adoption of investment instruments that are beginning to
gain popularity. In its Smart Investing Workshop, the NSE hosted
millennials to a training on Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) as a conduit
for investing in the equities market in collaboration with Meristem
Nigeria. Facilitators at the training delved deep into the workings of
ETFs, the benefits it provides to investors, tracking mechanisms and
available instruments on the market. Feedback from participants at the
event confirmed that the training was both timely and enlightening and
had piqued their interest in this asset class.
The Exchange hosts secondary schools, undergraduates and young
upwardly mobile professionals to X-Tours, a financial literacy workshop
that culminates in an interactive tour of the trading floor which
involves meeting with Stockbrokers. Through these channels, NSE is
making significant contributions to reducing the level of financial
exclusion in Nigeria to 20% in line with its mandate as a member of the
National Finance Inclusion Steering Committee led by the Central Bank of
Nigeria. The NSE is also a member of the Financial Literacy Technical
Committee of the Securities and Exch
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