Stakeholders Urges Technology Industry Players to Leverage on Capital Market for Cheap Funds

Darasimi Adebisi

Capital market regulating bodies and other stakeholders have called on operators in the technology industry to leverage on capital market platforms to raise cheap capital needed for expansion.

The regulators made the submission during the virtual TechNovation Conference organised by the NGX with the theme: “Technology, Platforms and Markets.”

The Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), Mr Temi Popoola, while highlighting the Exchange’s plan around technology, said that the drive was to ensure a multi-asset securities exchange, championing Africa’s sustainable growth and prosperity.

“Specifically, we are keen to democratise finance in Nigeria by leveraging current advancements in technology and relying on strategic partnerships and we will be doing this following our apex regulator, SEC.The second is the clear plan to use the exchange as a platform to accelerate innovation in technology and ICT in Nigeria.

“We are commited to making the exchange an avenue for capital formation for technology companies to raise capital and for those who invested to find liquidity for their investments.We are convinced that the driver for the next phase of Nigeria’s economic growth is through technology and we are committed as an exchange to help drive that growth by creating wealth for Nigerians,” he said.

In his goodwill message, the Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr. Lamido Yuguda stated: “I would like to begin by commending Mr. Temi Popola, CEO, NGX and his team for putting together and event like this which shows our resilience as a people and ability to face challenges. The theme of today’s conference, Technology, Platforms and Markets indeed captures the mood in world today and the inevitable coming together of the three segments in view of the COVID-19 pandemic which has forced us all to stretch possibilities and adopt new ways of performing our functions.

“These recent shifts certainly pose a challenge and a huge opportunity to both financial sector regulators and conventional financial services providers like NGX. It is, therefore, important that we facilitate conversations like this to ensure we strike the right balance between innovation, integrity and protection of investors, without whom there will be no markets.”

On his part, the Co-Founder and CEO, Flutterwave, Olugbenga Agboola noted, “As of today, we are in the information age where technology is leapfrogging every business model and infrastructure we can think about. This has of course facilitated growth that we see across the landscape in different terrains. A key driver in the proliferation of technology solutions in Nigeria has been mobile penetration and we expect to see continued growth in this regard. Against the backdrop of evolving solutions, African startups have raised over $1Billion in funding which is unprecedented for technology companies. The industry must however recognise that funders and regulators are the biggest stakeholders that must work together to drive digitalisaton across Africa and provide a platform for capital raising and global recognition for Nigerian companies at all stages.”

The event also featured a presentation from President, Africa Fintech Network, Dr. Segun Aina who commented thus, “I commend NGX Limited for putting this conference together, as it shows continued commitment to digital initiatives that can reposition and improve the Nigerian Capital Market and ensure its leadership position not only in Africa and across the world. I would also like to acknowledge the contributions of NGX to the Fintech Association of Nigeria of which it is an early member and continues to contribute and leverage on its membership and also support the growth of the Nigerian capital market.”