Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Emomotimi Agama, has said Nigeria’s capital market is increasingly prioritising artificial intelligence, data analytics and technology-driven regulation as part of efforts to modernise the country’s investment ecosystem.
Speaking at the FSDH Investor Conference 2026 in Lagos, Agama said the future of investing would be defined more by access to intelligence and data than by the amount of capital investors control.
According to him, global investing is already being reshaped by artificial intelligence, real-time analytics, distributed ledger technology and algorithmic systems that are changing how investments are priced, allocated and protected.
“We are at the threshold of what scholars and practitioners are calling the era of intelligent investing — a paradigm in which data does not merely inform decisions, but actively participates in them,” Agama said.
The SEC chief disclosed that the commission is pursuing reforms including T+1 settlement cycles, digital assets regulation and frameworks for tokenised securities as part of a broader seven-pillar capital market infrastructure strategy.
He added that the commission is also developing governance frameworks for the use of AI within the capital market, focusing on transparency, accountability and algorithmic fairness.
“An investor in Nigeria deserves to know not only what decisions were made on their behalf, but how those decisions were reached,” he stated.
According to Agama, the SEC’s fintech-bank integration strategy is targeting about 20 million retail investors nationwide as part of efforts to deepen financial inclusion and expand access to investment opportunities.
Beyond technology reforms, the SEC said it is also focused on democratising investment access for ordinary Nigerians, including small business owners, artisans and low-income earners traditionally excluded from formal investment systems.
The commission noted that investor protection remains central to its strategy through stronger enforcement mechanisms, financial literacy programmes and a dedicated Investor Protection Department.
“Confidence is the ultimate asset in a capital market. Every disclosure we enforce, every fraud we prosecute, every investor we educate adds to the stock of market confidence,” Agama said.
The SEC added that collaboration between regulators, fintech firms, financial institutions and investors would be critical to building a resilient and technology-driven capital market ecosystem capable of supporting long-term investment growth.
