Democratising the Nigerian Stock Exchange

Small businesses are the engine of growth; not just in Nigeria, but worldwide. But also — especially in Nigeria. More so than ever, as global corporations pack up and depart, we need to remember [or re-learn] how to support and build a nurturing environment for our small businesses that power the economy, are responsible for mass employment, and help generate taxes. I’ve spoken previously about the need for improved access to working capital for SMEs, and I’ll continue to shout about this until we see improvements in this area.

With that in mind, I was chatting recently with a very diverse and cross-generational group of economists, politicians, bankers and business leaders, and the subject of access to capital markets for SMEs came up. In a refreshingly frank and open informal debate, we spoke focussed on the need for increased access to capital market investment. Why? Today, the Nigerian stock market is shallow, and the process is complex and opaque.

In the UK, for example, via mobile, with a few clicks and checks, I can buy $50 worth of US-based Microsoft shares worth approx $700 [an insanely micro-fractional amount of the company]. Still, I cannot buy the fractional equivalent, say N100 worth of MTN shares, a Nigerian company. Suppose I want to buy fractional shares in a Nigerian company. In that case, I have to open a CSCS account, select a…