SEC: Only 4% of Nigerians Invest in Stocks as Crypto Transactions Hit $50 Billion in One Year
- The SEC reported that the country’s cryptocurrency market recorded a huge transaction despite fewer adults participating in the capital market
- Its Director-General, Emomotimi Agama, highlighted the nation’s low investment rates, contrasting them with high gambling participation
- Mr Agama also called for reforms to boost market participation, infrastructure financing, and investor confidence
Legit.ng journalist Victor Enengedi has over a decade's experience covering Energy, MSMEs, Technology, Banking and the Economy.
Nigeria’s cryptocurrency sector has seen remarkable activity, with transactions valued at $50 billion between July 2023 and June 2024, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In a statement issued on Sunday, Emomotimi Agama, the SEC’s Director-General, highlighted that the level of trading in digital assets contrasts sharply with Nigeria’s traditional capital market, where fewer than 4% of adults are active investors.
Source: UGC
Agama noted that the growing cryptocurrency trade reflects the sophistication and risk appetite of many Nigerians, qualities that have not yet translated into traditional investment channels.
Presenting a paper titled “Evaluating the Nigerian Capital Market Master Plan 2015–2025” at the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) annual conference, Agama expressed concern over the minimal engagement of Nigerians in the formal capital market.
He described the situation as a major obstacle to capital formation and economic growth, observing that while fewer than three million Nigerians invest in securities, over 60 million participate in gambling daily, spending roughly $5.5 million every day.
Agama remarked:
"This reveals a paradox, an appetite for risk clearly exists, but not the trust or access to channel that energy into productive investment.”
The SEC chief also lamented Nigeria’s market capitalisation-to-GDP ratio, which stands at just 30%. He compared this to South Africa’s 320%, Malaysia’s 123%, and India’s 92%, stressing the need to expand financial inclusion and restore investor confidence.
Reflecting on the 10-year capital market master plan
Agama revisited the vision behind the Capital Market Master Plan (CMMP), launched in 2015 to transform the Nigerian market into a key driver of long-term economic development through infrastructure and enterprise financing.
He said:
“Today, as we stand at the sunset of that ten-year plan, our task is not ceremonial; it is reflective and diagnostic. We must ask: what did we achieve, where did we fall short, and what lessons must anchor our next decade of reforms?”
Agama identified key challenges for the future, including low retail investor participation, market concentration, declining foreign investment, underutilised pension funds, limited diaspora engagement, and a persistent infrastructure financing gap.
He noted that Nigeria’s annual infrastructure deficit of $150 billion far exceeds the market’s contribution, with only N1.5 trillion raised through public-private partnership (PPP) bonds, a sign, he said, of a mismatch between financial innovation and national development needs.
Concluding his remarks, Agama called for a redefined SEC that acts not just as a regulator but also as a catalyst for private-sector-led growth.
He underscored the importance of trust, transparency, and inclusion, reminding stakeholders that “vision without execution leads to stagnation.”
Source: Legit.ng
