SEID Intel by Oluwatoyin

I had a conversation recently about stocks, and the excitement around where investing is headed was hard to miss.

Not too long ago, the stock market felt distant to many people. Today, digital platforms have made it easier to start small, learn and participate. It got me thinking about what investing could look like ten or twenty years from now.

In the United States, for example, eligible children born between 2025 and 2028 can have investment accounts seeded with $1,000 by the government, once a parent or guardian opts in. It is one signal of a broader shift: investing is becoming more embedded in everyday financial life.

Nigeria is seeing its own shift too.

These are the kinds of signals we pay attention to at SEID. Not simply because the stock market is rising, but because markets can tell us where capital, businesses and economic opportunities may be moving next.

And Nigeria’s market currently has attention. In July, Bloomberg ranked Nigeria’s stock market as the world’s best-performing equity market in dollar terms, after the NGX delivered about a 67% year-to-date return, edging ahead of South Korea’s KOSPI. The ranking covered 92 global equity indices. 

But the real opportunity is not the ranking. It is what Nigeria does with the moment.

If this momentum can attract more major listings, deepen local participation and channel capital towards businesses and infrastructure, the stock market can become a much stronger engine for growth.

We are already seeing signs of this. Nigeria’s capital market mobilised about $3.4 billion during the banking recapitalisation exercise, while Dangote Refinery is targeting around $5 billion through an IPO to support expansion.

The story moves beyond rising share prices, with OPay reportedly preparing for a potential U.S. IPO and PalmPay exploring a Hong Kong listing, Nigerian-focused fintechs are increasingly engaging global capital markets. At the same time, retail investment apps have made investing more accessible and more familiar to everyday Nigerians. But as participation grows, there is still an understanding gap to close. This is where marketing and investor education can add real value by simplifying stock market language and showing people the different ways they can participate. For example, rather than only selecting a few individual stocks, an investor could choose an ETF that tracks an index such as the S&P 500, spreading exposure across hundreds of companies and offering a more diversified route for long-term investing. 

Ultimately, the opportunity is much bigger than stronger market performance. If Nigeria can sustain this momentum, attract more major listings and channel more capital into businesses and infrastructure, the stock market can become an even stronger engine for economic growth. The rally has created the attention; what Nigeria builds from it will determine the real value. 

The stock market has been having quite a moment lately, and a report I came across a few days ago made the conversation even more interesting. 

IN DETAIL: Financial services, oil sectors lead market activity as NGX records N139bn trade

Trading activity on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) increased last week, with investors exchanging 5.35 billion shares worth N139.05 billion across 261,869 deals. Financial services dominated activity, accounting for nearly 65 percent of total volume, followed by oil and gas, while ICT ranked third.

The sector mix is significant because it shows where investor attention is concentrated. Financial services remain central to capital flow in the economy, oil and gas continues to attract interest as a major earnings sector, and ICT’s presence points to growing attention beyond Nigeria’s traditional market drivers.

For the wider economy, stronger trading activity can improve market liquidity and deepen the capital market, making it easier for businesses to eventually raise funds for expansion. The bigger opportunity is turning investor activity into productive capital that supports growth, investment and job creation.

Here are a few other headlines that also caught my attention this week:

• Tech experts back CBN’s data localisation policy — but raise concerns over cost, local infrastructure. Data is coming home. Hopefully, the servers are ready. 
• FG establishes company to deliver nationwide fibre infrastructure. 90,000km of fibre? Someone is very serious about ending “network issues.” 
• Tech startups part of reasons Nigeria attracting FDI, says Google’s head of African startup. The founders are founding. The investors are investing. Everybody seems busy. 
• NGX CEO: Economic reforms created up to 500,000 millionaires through stock market gains. New millionaires everywhere. Very awkward time to have ignored that investment app. 
• Tegbe: Power sector’s progress will now be measured by communities electrified — not megawatts. Nigeria said forget the megawatts, show us the light. 
• John Nwabueze: Tax ombudsman working with JRB, state governments to address multiple taxation issues. Taxpayers everywhere just whispered, “About time.” 
• Air Canada begins regulatory processes to launch Lagos flights in 2027. Canada just got a little closer to Detty December. 
• FG directs MDAs to appoint data protection officers, comply with NDP Act. Government files are entering their privacy era. 
• 10% withholding tax for mining income, consultancy fees… highlights of NRS guidelines on virtual asset taxation. Your virtual assets just became very real to the tax office. 
• AON warns aviation unions against disrupting flights over ticket service charge dispute. Passengers: “Are we taking off or talking it out?” 

Just leaving that here.