The Group Chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group, Alhaji Dr Umaru Kwairanga, has called on global investors to participate in Nigeria’s economic growth by investing in the country’s capital market and emerging sectors.
Kwairanga made the call at the Nigeria Investment Forum 2026 in New York, held under the theme, “Connecting Capital to Opportunity: Investing in Africa’s Next Frontier.”
He said Nigeria’s investment story was no longer limited to its enormous potential, but increasingly reflected reforms aimed at creating a more stable and business-friendly environment.
According to him, the removal of fuel subsidies, the unification of foreign-exchange markets, more disciplined monetary policy and tax reforms had helped address long-standing structural imbalances.
He said the reforms had positively affected Nigeria’s macroeconomic environment and business conditions, contributing to double-digit annual growth in the Nigerian capital market since 2023.
Kwairanga explained that the Nigerian Exchange was more than a platform for trading securities. It also served as an important part of the national capital-formation system by helping businesses access long-term financing and directing savings towards productive sectors.
He said investor confidence remained central to attracting and retaining capital.
Confidence, he added, depended on sound regulation, credible corporate governance, transparency, market integrity and efficient market infrastructure.
The NGX chairman argued that Nigeria’s country-risk profile had improved compared with three years earlier, while investment returns remained among the most attractive globally.
He identified crude oil, solid minerals, agriculture, infrastructure, fintech and tourism as sectors offering significant opportunities for investors.
Nigeria’s natural resources, large youthful population, entrepreneurial capacity and agricultural potential, he said, positioned the country as one of the major growth engines of the 21st century.
Kwairanga also highlighted the role of foreign capital in supporting Nigeria’s development.
He said international investment could provide not only financing but also technology, expertise, global networks, institutional discipline and access to international markets.
He noted that NGX had recorded growth in market capitalisation, trading volumes and trading values in recent years.
The Exchange had also attracted millions of new investors through trading-licence holders, marketing initiatives and digital platforms such as NGX Invest, which supports participation in primary public offers.
Kwairanga identified the ongoing Dangote Refinery initial public offering as a major example of the Nigerian Exchange’s capacity to support large-scale capital mobilisation.
He said the offer was setting records in terms of funds raised and subscriber participation on the African continent.
The NGX chairman stressed that a strong capital market was not an end in itself.
Its real value, he said, lay in enabling companies to expand, turning savings into productive investments, financing infrastructure, broadening ownership and making economic opportunities more accessible.
He invited venture-capital firms, private-equity investors and institutional investors to explore opportunities in infrastructure financing, solid-minerals development, commercial agriculture, financial technology and tourism.
Individual investors, he added, could participate through more than 300 securities listed on the NGX Premium and Main Boards.
He said more than 150 investment firms operated as active trading-licence holders of the Exchange and could guide investors through the process of investing in Nigerian securities and commodities.
Kwairanga described Nigeria as a giant economy on the verge of unlocking its full potential and urged international investors to take advantage of the country’s opportunities.
He said the collective responsibility of government, regulators, businesses and financial institutions was to strengthen the systems and partnerships required to turn Nigeria’s opportunities into investable, scalable and sustainable ventures.