Poor digital retail offerings affect N85trn stock market potential

Despite an estimated N7 trillion already lost to fraudulent schemes, a growing  number of Nigerian youths continue to patronize  foreign investment apps,  shunning the N85 trillion Nigerian stock market.

Experts  cautioned that the rising  phenomenon  exposes young investors to unprecedented risks, as many of the offshore platforms operate beneath the protective reach of Nigerian law.

Fired by the desire for instant transactions and the flexibility that traditional exchanges like the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) do not offer, tech-savvy investors are flocking to apps granting access to the United States, China as well as cryptocurrency markets.

The trend   highlights a widening digital divide between Nigeria’s domestic capital market and the new, borderless financial world for which younger Nigerians have shown preference.

Experts cautioned that unless critical issues surrounding cross-border investments, fintech oversight and whistleblower protections are urgently addressed, Nigeria could suffer a financial catastrophe.

Many young investors, enticed by the promise of quick profits, are stepping into a high-risk environment that could leave a generation financially bankrupt, they warned.

The experts argued that Nigeria’s capital market must evolve quickly in the face of a rapidly digitising world or risk losing an entire generation of investors to unregulated and often unsafe, digital platforms.

Although the new Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2025 represents a major milestone in modernising Nigeria’s capital market laws, experts say it does not sufficiently address the intricate challenges of cross-border securities trading or establish solid frameworks for regulatory cooperation with foreign authorities.