CEO Advocates Long-term Investment

The decline in returns from the Nigerian equities market presents an opportunity for bargain hunting in high-value stocks to position for long-term gains.

This view was shared by the Managing Director of Greenwich Securities Limited, Oby Chiki-Ijegbulem at the Nigerian British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) Member’s evening with the theme, ‘Investment Opportunities in the Nigerian Capital Market,’ held recently.
She noted that some shares listed on Nigerian Stock Exchange were trading at five-year low and thus presents an opportunity for discerning investors to position for long-term growth.

According to her “This is relatively a good time to strategically invest in the equities market.
‘’Investors however, need to access the right information, and build the tenacity to do so. A lot of people don’t have the necessary information; neither do they have the courage to invest.”

While touching on other metrics that supports investment in Nigeria’s financial market despite the downturn in equities prices, she noted that, “in identifying opportunities, several factors need to be considered, including the underlying fundamentals of the target stock and the risks that may impact its projected performance.”

‘’We understand that these dynamics may not be exactly easy for everyone to coordinate and we advise current and potential investors to contact veritable investment analysts or stockbrokers to guide them in taking decisions on investing in the equities market bearing in mind the risk involved,” Chiki-Ijegbulem added.

Paylater Achieves One Million Downloads

In Nigeria, a country of nearly 200 million people, 61 per cent of the adult population is either unbanked or underbanked. Therefore, fintech companies like Paylater represent a tremendous opportunity to get formal banking services in the hands of Nigerian consumers to provide much needed liquidity for entrepreneurial investment, personal development, or unexpected expenses.

A statement revealed that Paylater had started issuing loans to Nigerians completely digitally, without seeing or speaking to customers.

“Customers can receive funds in their account in as little as five minutes, with no need for paperwork, collateral or guarantors.
“Digital financial services platforms have been well received by consumers and it appears that fintech platforms like Paylater are here to stay.

“The evidence is in the numbers. With over 800,000 registered users, across every Nigerian state, Paylater has loaned over $17 million to Nigerian consumers in 2018 so far.
“The technology platform has supplemented that loan growth with very strong early adoption of its bill payments and investments features as well,” the statement added.

“We are very excited by the market adoption of Paylater and we believe there is still a significant growth opportunity ahead for digital financial services,” the company’s co-founder and CEO, Chijioke Dozie said.

Before the advent of Paylater and other fintech companies, only commercial banks — with physical branches nationwide and extremely large capital bases — had the reach, stability and customer trust to offer financial services to a variety of people. Unfortunately, these same institutions turned record profits by taking deposits from average consumers and reserving actual ‘banking’ services like loans and investments for large corporate entities and high-net worth individuals.

Access to credit is a fundamental human need and the foundation on which most modern economies are built. Pioneers like Paylater have embraced the difficult task of unlocking the power of financial access for the underserved, and so far, it looks like they are winning.

Group Support Inclusive Development

The second meeting of the Digital Economy Task Force (DETF) recently took place in Buenos Aires.
Over the two days, representatives from G20 member and guest countries, together with officials from international organisations, discussed issues related to digital transformation and prepared recommendations on inclusive development.

“We are building and bolstering the digital agenda with a focus on inclusive development,” the Under-secretary of Public Innovation and Open Government at the Argentine Ministry for Modernisation and chair of the DETF, Rudi Borrmann said.
The meeting took place at San Martín Palace, the ceremonial seat of the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The agenda included discussions on data and measurement of the digital economy, digital government, bridging the gender digital divide, digital infrastructure and the economy.

Participants also worked on the joint declaration for the Digital Economy Ministerial Meeting, taking place on 23-24 August, in the province of Salta, in the north-west of Argentina.
Created under the German G20 presidency in 2017, the DETF acknowledges the new digital era and the effective use of new technologies as a key factor in economic development.

The digital economy covers a wide range of activities based on the use of information and knowledge as factors of production, information networks as a space for action, and information and communication technologies as drivers of productivity.

Representing the young, diverse and creative region of Latin America and the Caribbean, the Argentine DETF presidency sought to make consensus-based recommendations that advance inclusive development through digital transformation.