FG, NGX to commence startup listing with newly launched NGX Tech Board

A recent development shows that the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy are teaming up to collaborate with the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) to enable startup listings together with the newly-created NGX Technology Board.

The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, made this known during a tech event titled ‘Invest in Africa’s Future- Let’s talk about exits-,’ a joint initiative of the Ministry, NGX, and Future Africa in New York.

The Minister noted that Nigeria as a whole has been focusing mainly on oil for the past years, and the need to diversify was very important instead of relying on a particular source. He also said that to focus on other sectors, the government must be willing to increase productivity in those fields.

He said that for Nigeria to reach such a milestone, it was going to be through the application of technology and innovation, on which President Bola Tinubu is actively working.

Tijani also said that his Ministry is working to create a regulatory environment for fintechs, improve digital infrastructure, facilitate the export of tech products and services, access funding mostly from investors, and collaborate with NGX on tailored listing options for startups via its technology board.

He said,

• We cannot do all of this as a country if we do not prioritize innovation and encourage entrepreneurs to build. Nigeria is now open to investment. We want to prioritize the ability of our technology companies to export products, and we are targeting Africa first and then eventually starting to sell to the rest of the world.

At the same event, Temi Popoola, the Chief Executive Officer of NGX, said that the Exchange Group will work together to achieve the goals set by the Minister and President Tinubu.

While commending the advantage of technology in the capital market, Popoola stated that the NGX was on the lookout to boost innovation in the capital market to attract many investors and big tech companies to list on its platform.

Talking about the challenges faced by the listings, he said that private capital is more than public capital, and he also revealed that the NGX is having a discussion with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on private markets to assist the exchange in also partnering with non-listed companies like startups.

He stated,

• We will continue to do a lot of work that makes us able to attract local capital, and the day tech start-ups come to the exchange, we are confident that there will be a very good audience of investors who would want to own a bit of their shares. This is what we at NGX are doing by removing all barriers to that happening.

Flutterwave CEO, Olugbenga Agboola, also stated in the meeting that his company is focused on Nigerian projects, as most of the company's investments have been situated in Nigeria since inception. He noted that Flutterwave will continue to tap opportunities created by the markets to grow and provide value to both investors and customers.

Chapel Hill Denham CEO, Mr Bolaji Balogun, also gave his remarks on the development and stated that he believes that the Nigerian investment community gets the chance to partake in the capital construction going on in the tech sector rather than relying on foreign markets.