SEC targets N750trn capital market in new 10-year plan

By Ezurike Ugochukwu

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has unveiled a 10-year strategic blueprint aimed at expanding Nigeria’s capital market from N250 trillion to N750 trillion by 2036.

The Director-General of SEC, Dr Emomotimi Agama, disclosed this in a statement issued by the Commission on Wednesday in Abuja, describing the Nigeria Capital Market Master Plan (NCMMP) 2.0 as a framework for mobilising domestic savings to drive economic growth.

Agama said the NCMMP 2026–2036 was aligned with Nigeria Agenda 2050 and the Renewed Hope Development Plan (2026–2030).

He said the plan would guide reforms to improve the market’s efficiency, broaden investment opportunities and strengthen its capacity to finance businesses and national development.

According to him, implementation would focus on regulatory clarity, improved coordination and enforcement, modernisation of market infrastructure, and diversification of investment products and securities issuance.

The plan would also seek to expand the investor base, strengthen institutional capacity and promote professional development across the capital market.

Agama said a deeper and more accessible capital market would deliver benefits to different segments of the economy, including pensioners, small businesses, young investors and state governments.

He explained that pensioners could benefit from safer and better-rewarded retirement savings, while small business owners could access long-term financing beyond conventional bank overdrafts.

“For the young graduate with a smartphone, it means an investment account opened in minutes and for a state government, it means funding for roads and hospitals its citizens can see and use.

“That is what the capital market is for,” he said.

The SEC chief said the master plan would be formally inaugurated at the National Capital Market Conference on Oct. 19, alongside the National Savings Scheme.

He described the simultaneous launch as deliberate, noting that savings provided the foundation for investment and could help countries finance development with domestic resources through their capital markets.

Agama said effective implementation would require collective commitment from regulators, investors, issuers, market operators and other stakeholders.

“A plan is only as good as the will to carry it out, and this one belongs to all of us,” he said.

He assured businesses seeking to raise funds and investors participating in the market that the regulatory framework was becoming clearer and opportunities were expanding.

“To investors at home and abroad, the rules are clearer, the protections stronger and the opportunities wider than ever,” he said.

Agama also urged state governments to explore capital market instruments as alternative sources of development financing, while calling on market operators and professionals to uphold the skills and integrity required to sustain confidence in the sector.

He said Nigeria had spent recent years undertaking economic reforms, adding that the next decade should focus on translating those efforts into tangible results.

“Nigeria has spent the past few years doing the hard work of reform, the next 10 years are about harvesting it,” he said.

Agama said the Commission intended to build a capital market capable of supporting national development while providing opportunities for Nigerians to save, invest and participate in economic growth.

“With NCMMP 2.0, we intend to build a capital market worthy of a great nation, one that works for every Nigerian who dares to save, invest and believe in our shared future,” he said.

The proposed expansion from N250 trillion to N750 trillion represents a threefold increase in the market’s targeted size over the plan’s 10-year period.