The Chairman of the Nigerian Exchange Group Plc, Umaru Kwairanga, has expressed concerns over the low number of investors in Nigeria’s capital market, describing it as a major issue given the country’s population of over 220 million.
Speaking at the 2024 annual conference of the Capital Market Correspondents Association of Nigeria (CAMCAN) in Lagos recently, Kwairanga emphasised the need to harness technology and engage the younger generation in addressing the disparity.
Kwairanga pointed out that while Nigeria had become a global hub for Bitcoin, blockchain, and other financial innovations, the growth of the traditional market has remained sluggish.
“We are coming from less than 100,000 investors, which is unacceptable. Today, with the support of the Securities and Exchange Commission and other stakeholders, we have doubled or tripled that number in just six months — a milestone we could not achieve in the last 20 years, but I believe we can do better than this,” he said.
