MTN Nigeria Communications Plc (MTNN) and Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX) signed an MoU on Monday to promote financial literacy and enhance retail participation in the Nigerian capital market.
The two-year partnership, which was signed held on Monday in Lagos, will see NGX and MTNN collaborating to develop capital market solutions, leverage technology to support data dissemination and technology as a service.
The program will also strengthen the development of capacity, and remove barriers to retail participation in the capital markets.
The Chief Executive Officer of NGX, Temi Popoola, said that NGX is committed to democratising finance in Nigeria by leveraging current technological advancements and strategic partnerships.
“With its customer base of over 68 million customers, MTNN provides invaluable access to a large pool of potential retail investors who can play an important role in Nigeria’s capital market, deepening their own financial resilience in the process.
“This collaboration with MTNN aligns with our aspiration to build an open, professional and vibrant exchange and we are indeed excited about this NGX era,” Popoola said.
Karl Toriola, CEO of MTNN, added that the organisation had a responsibility to ensure that its customers stay connected and are able to access more value and better services through its network in order to participate in the digital economy.
“Our collaboration with NGX gives us the opportunity to empower our customer base with the tools and the knowledge to engage effectively with the capital market and meet their financial and investment objectives.
“There is no better way to demonstrate our commitment to this than through the just concluded public offer for sale of MTNN shares, designed to enhance retail shareholder participation in the value that we create.
“We continue to identify other areas of cooperation with NGX and we look forward to a mutually beneficial partnership that will contribute to the inclusive growth of the Nigerian economy.”
MTN Group’s holding of 575 million ordinary shares of MTNN was sold in a public offering using NGX’s digital platform.
“The offer which was the first-ever end-to-end digital offer in the Nigerian capital markets was oversubscribed by 139.4 per cent.
“The deployment of an electronic primary offer platform is consistent with the commitment of NGX to enhance the efficiency and reach of the Public Offer (PO) subscription process and operational work-flow.
“This is to support issuers in raising capital and enhance the reach of POs while promoting financial inclusion and retail investors’ participation in the market.