Tech company, SecondSTAX and the Nigerian Exchange Limited have collaborated in a bid to drive institutional investment from across Africa into Nigeria’s capital market.
At the launch of the product at the exchange, it was revealed that the new partnership which was established in close collaboration with Afrinvest (West Africa) Limited, will make it easier for licensed broker-dealers, asset managers, large commercial banks and other institutional investors from across the continent to invest in the exchange via SecondSTAX’s transparent, easy-to-use, cloud-based portal.
Also, the platform enables investors to invest in their local currencies.
Speaking on the partnership, the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of SecondSTAX, Eugene Tawiah, said, “Our aim is to integrate all the capital markets across Africa to enable more seamless investment flows and this partnership with the Nigerian Exchange Limited represents a major milestone on our journey.
“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 of NGX, Temi Popoola, in his comment, hailed SecondSTAX for its solution to drive institutional investments across Africa.
“This closely aligns with our ongoing efforts to foster innovation and growth in our market through initiatives such as the African Exchanges Linkage Project, which aims to integrate capital markets in the continent; and our partnership with Afreximbank’s Pan African Payments Settlement System to facilitate seamless cross-border transactions within the African capital markets.
“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,” Popoola said.
Meanwhile, the Group Managing Director of Afrinvest, Ike Chioke, expressed delight at being involved in the deal.
He said, “As a leading capital marketing holding company, we are always at the forefront of driving innovations that grow Nigeria’s capital market. 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.”
SecondSTAX builds solutions to enhance intra-Africa capital and investment flows, thus making it easier to access opportunities in relevant markets via its platform.
The company already has partnerships with the Nairobi Securities Exchange and the Ghana Stock Exchange.
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 $10,000.00 (or the equivalent value in Nigerian naira). Over time, this limit will be reduced to extend services to other customers.