The Securities and Exchange Commission has said that less than five per cent of adult Nigerians invest in the Nigerian capital market.

The Director General of SEC, Lamido Yuguda, said this on Wednesday at the inaugural Investment Forum of United Capital Asset Management in Lagos’ themed ‘Deepening Financial Inclusion Through Participation in Collective Investment Schemes: A Collaborative Approach’.

Yuguda, who was represented by Executive Director of Operations, SEC, Dayo Obisan, said that with the improvement in the financial inclusion figures for Nigeria, it had become important to look at how many customers were onboarded into the capital market.

The latest EFInA Access to Finance Survey report stated that the formal financial inclusion in Nigeria had grown from 56 per cent in 2020 to 64 per cent in 2023.

Yuguda said that despite improvement in financial inclusion, the involvement of Nigerians in the capital market remained low. He noted, “It is important to note that despite all the progress made so far, less than five per cent less of Nigerian adults currently invest in the capital markets, highlighting the ongoing need for concerted efforts in this work. “

As noted by the IMF in 2023, financial inclusion in Nigeria has experienced significant growth as evidenced by the consistent incorporation of residents into the banking sector