The number of active retail investors participating in Nigeria’s capital market has risen to 2.7 million from about 200,000 three years ago, Jude Chiemeka, chief executive officer of Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), has said. Chiemeka attributed the growth largely to digital technology, which has made it easier for investors to access the market remotely.
“Today we have an active number of 2.7 million retail investors participating in our market,” he said Friday at BusinessDay’s Top 25 CEOs Awards in Lagos. The exchange is targeting a further increase in retail participation as part of efforts to deepen Nigeria’s capital market. Chiemeka said the proposed capital market master plan targets 30 million retail investors by 2030, while NGX believes its digital infrastructure could enable it to add 10 million new retail investors.
“Based on the new proposed capital market master plan the FICO will be looking at will be to include 30 million retail investors to participate in our market by 2030 and that’s a very strong number but we believe that given the robustness of the technology we have built, the commitment and the governance structure around our markets we should be able to deliver 10 million new rated investors for this standard offering,” he said.
Chiemeka said NGX’s technology infrastructure would support wider participation in upcoming capital-market offerings as the exchange moves further away from paper-based transactions. The growth in retail participation comes as the equities market continues to rally. Chiemeka said the NGX All-Share Index crossed 200,000 points in March, while market capitalisation rose above N57 trillion. The index was up 56 percent in 2026 at the time of his remarks.
He said stronger institutions, technology and corporate governance were critical to sustaining investor confidence and attracting capital.