Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX Group) has known as for a extra built-in strategy to capital formation throughout Africa, connecting companies with acceptable sources of financing at each stage of their development to construct globally aggressive enterprises.
Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NGX Group, Temi Popoola, made the decision on the Financial Times Africa Summit 2026 in London on Wednesday, October 21, throughout a panel session titled ‘Building African Champions – The Investment Case for Scaling SMEs.’
Popoola famous that capital markets have historically targeted on giant, mature corporations prepared to checklist, whereas promising companies typically require a number of rounds of financing earlier than they’ll entry public markets.
“Historically, we have taken a sort of a top-down approach to look for big companies ready to go public,” he mentioned, explaining that companies usually progress from founder funding and assist from family and friends to enterprise capital, non-public funding and, in the end, public-market financing.
He noticed that the rising availability of personal capital, alongside fewer new listings and a rise in delistings throughout a number of markets, underscores the necessity for a extra linked capital formation ecosystem. Rather than ready for companies to mature earlier than partaking with them, capital market establishments should discover methods to assist promising enterprises earlier of their growth.
This requires stronger connections between public markets and the broader funding panorama, together with non-public fairness, enterprise capital and institutional buyers. Such linkages might help companies entry financing as they develop whereas creating potential exit alternatives for personal buyers via public listings.
Popoola additionally highlighted family-owned enterprises, describing them as “hidden champions” that would make important contributions to African capital markets if supported to scale and entry acceptable sources of capital.
He recognized receivables and bill financing as one other method capital markets might help ease funding constraints dealing with smaller companies. By enabling corporations to leverage invoices, receivables and buy orders linked to bigger company prospects, these financing constructions might help SMEs unlock working capital and maintain development.
In Nigeria, the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) Growth Board gives small-cap and growth-oriented corporations with a pathway to elevate long-term capital via the general public market, supported by extra versatile itemizing necessities.
The Exchange can also be working with establishments such because the Bank of Industry (BoI) to strengthen SME funding readiness via focused engagements, capability constructing and better consciousness of capital market financing alternatives. These efforts assist the event of a stronger pipeline of companies able to accessing public markets as they develop.
Popoola’s remarks underscores the significance of a linked financing ecosystem in enabling promising African companies to transition into established enterprises, entice institutional funding and develop past their home markets.
Achieving this requires collaboration throughout private and non-private capital suppliers, supported by capital markets outfitted to facilitate sustainable enterprise development and broader financial growth.
The Financial Times Africa Summit 2026 introduced collectively enterprise and monetary sector leaders to look at funding alternatives and the circumstances required to assist Africa’s subsequent era of enterprise champions.
