This is coming as Nigeria faces a significant infrastructure deficit, estimated at $3 trillion by the World Bank.

Speaking on a Sub-Theme: Nigeria: Funding Economic Transformation Through The Nigerian Capital Market at the WorldStage Economic Summit (WES) 2014 on Wednesday, September 25, 2024 in Lagos, Agama said bridging the infrastructure  gap will require a coordinated effort between the public and private sectors.

“Our goal is to establish Nigeria’s capital market as the premier destination for infrastructure financing in Africa,” he said.

Represented at the WES 2024 with the Theme: Nigeria: Setting A Stage For Business And Economic Recovery by Mr. Tunde Kamali, Director, Office of of the Director General, Agama said  financing of critical infrastructure was a top priority for Nigeria’s economic recovery as the capital market offers an ideal mechanism for funding large-scale projects, as demonstrated by successful infrastructure bonds and public-private partnerships (PPPs).

“Through the activities of foreign investors, the market is increasingly becoming more efficient and the foreign capital inflows have been used to augment the country’s external reserve with attendant benefits on the exchange rate, all these are geared towards the development of the Nigerian economy,” he said.

At the WES 2024 which also attracted top executives and academicians including Dr. Aminu Maida,  Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC); Khalil Suleiman Halilu, Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive, National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI); Prof Diran Akinleye, Head of Department of Economics, University of Lagos (UNILAG); Prof Yaqub Jameelah Omolara, Head of Department of Economics, Lagos State University (LASU), the SEC boss noted that government patronage of the capital market can significantly benefit both the market and the broader economy.

“By issuing bonds or long-term securities, the government enhances market depth and liquidity, attracting institutional investors seeking stable returns,” Agama said.

“This establishes a benchmark for pricing private-sector debt, boosting investor confidence and making the capital market more predictable.

“Increased government involvement signals stability, encouraging foreign direct and portfolio investment while promoting innovation and improved regulatory frameworks. Over time, government participation can lower borrowing costs for both the public and private sectors, fostering economic growth by channelling funds into key infrastructure and development projects. This stimulates the broader economy, creating jobs and enhancing productivity, which in turn benefits the capital market.

“Additionally, government engagement in the capital market can encourage public-private partnerships, offering investment opportunities while mitigating risk. It also provides investors with avenues to diversify their portfolios, reducing risk and fostering more stable returns. Finally, by offering secure investment instruments, government participation deepens domestic savings, allowing citizens to earn returns on their savings while contributing to national development.

“The Nigerian capital market continues to serve as an important pillar for the stability of the financial system, acting as a crucial conduit for the flow of capital and the efficient allocation of resources. By enabling businesses to raise funds and offering investors diversified opportunities, the capital market supports economic growth and strengthens corporate governance.

“It is important to recognize the indispensable role that our capital market plays in fostering sustainable development. A well-functioning capital market is the bedrock for long-term capital formation, enabling critical investments in infrastructure, energy, agriculture, and technology—sectors essential to Nigeria’s economic transformation.

“The Nigerian capital market is more than just a platform for raising funds; it is a reflection of our nation’s economic health, a vehicle for wealth creation, and a barometer of investor confidence. It is through this market that we can channel investments into projects that will stimulate growth and development.

“From traditional equity markets and bonds to innovative instruments like green bonds and sukuk, the capital market offers diverse options for funding the sectors that will drive Nigeria’s future prosperity.

“The capital market has a critical role to play in economic growth and development of a country and the Nigerian capital market has not been left behind in performing this role.

“The Nigerian capital market has funded critical public and private project from both local and international issuers and investors.

“Specifically, Governments at various levels in the country have at different times resorted to issuing bonds in the capital market to fund key development and infrastructural projects.

“Equally, the equities segment of the market has provided funding for companies to expand operations and for the government to privatize and divest ownership of its enterprises.

“In addition, both domestic, institutional, and retail investors have participated in the capital market to earn income and generate employment.”

They gave the advice on Thursday at the breakout session on the WorldStage Economic Summit 2023 held at the event centre of the Nigerian Exchange, Lagos themed “The Game Changer.”

Moderated by the Editor-in-Chief of Global Financial Digest, Mr. Mayowa Oludare, guest speakers that took turns to share their experiences and address issues that were critical factors in understanding and running startup businesses to succeed were Mr. Tim Akano, CEO, New Horizons Nigeria; and Mrs. Adekunbi Ademiluyi, Managing Director, HumanManager Limited who represented the Group Managing Director of SystemSpecs Holdings, Nigeria, Mr. John Tani Obaro.

Giving a presentation on startups as the game changer, Mr. Akano admitted that it was always tough at the beginning but that passion and perseverance would make starters to overcome any challenge that might come their way in the build-up stages.

Reliving personal experience, he said it took him over 12 months to convince Nigerians about his startup which he started about 20 years ago after resigning from lucrative jobs with Coca Cola and Dunlop.

According to Akano, it takes perseverance to overcome challenges and it’s not a bed of roses to scale various hurdles for anyone ambitious to venture into startups. But every startup entrepreneur must have it at the back of their minds that the reward for solving problems is money and therefore make problem solving their focus if they desire to make headway, he stated.

Sounding out would-be startup entrepreneurs against failure, he warned against partnering with wrong people and to cut off with negative individuals who were only good at seeing challenges but not solutions.

“Don’t make a company of negative people, particularly the learned and academic who are fond of analysis to paralysis, only rolling out problems rather than solutions,” he warned.

He also advised upcoming startups that there is nothing bad in sharing ideas with people who may not be experts to avoid discouragement by people of much knowledge.

Asked if it’s advisable to engage partners from the start, he replied that it might be difficult to build a company with just one brain.

“The fear is understandable, but there’s no straight answer to it,” he said.

He however reminded the audience that Google was a product of some students and professors and that therefore it might not be a bad idea to have partners who are like-minded from the beginning.

He advised the youth not to be dominated by fear of the risk of bringing in people to co-own startup businesses.

Speaking on the benefits of mentoring and mentorship, Akano argued that not everyone could be a mentor but real mentors were called to serve other people, with little concern for reward.

Describing how critical mentors are to the generation of upcoming entrepreneurs, he quoted a statement by Albert Eistein that ‘he sees far by standing on the shoulder of a giant’ to support his position on the significance of mentorship.

“One has to be very bold to seek help, and youths have to be disciplined, trust-worthy and have value to contribute,” he admonished.

Akano highlighted other challenges to upcoming startups as fear of the unknown, overconfidence about break-even which in most cases fail expectations, and cash flow, which according to him is about retaining cash coming in rather than just inflow of cash.

In her own presentation on ‘Journey from conception to launch, Mrs. Adekunbi Ademiluyi agreed with Akano that understanding and knowing one’s passion is key to upcoming entrepreneurs to achieving success.

“Focus on your goals even when your plan is cascading,” she counselled.

She outlined other factors for success in entrepreneurship as understanding and engaging with community; asking the right questions with ideation; challenging the status quo; listening to unmet needs and desires of the world; conceptualizing by shaping ideas into tangible, viable and scalable solution – determining solution that fits the problem; creating a value proposition; defining business model; and putting a legal structure in place.

Ademiluyi also recommended execution based on nurturing ideas, refining and bringing them to life, processing product development, building workable teams and planning resources.

“A successful launch isn’t where the story ends, going live aims at monetization, customers’ satisfaction and creating new markets,” she elaborated.

Asked  how idea could be translated to reality, she recommended that a plan should be created, concerns should be shared, structure should be put in place, ideas should be shared, strategic partnership should be initiated, and knowledge of what moving from point A to B in the growth process meant and entailed must be established.

She mentioned the contributions of the government at encouraging startup businesses as instituting the Bank of Industry (BoI), Micro finance banks etc to ensure easy access to funding for financially deprived individuals that sought to go into startups.

Responding to the question about the fintech sector being dominated by technical people, she said it was because investors and venture capitalists always looked for technologists and that those that applied for their jobs were people with a background in financial technology.

To halt or curb the “japa” syndrome currently depriving Nigeria the services of her bulk of professionals, Ademiluyi submitted that it’s a global challenge that’s not limited to Nigeria alone. However, she saw an opportunity in the challenge

“In every problem there is an opportunity. It’s a global issue. There’s even domestic japa where people resign their jobs and prefer to work on their own. There are opportunities in Nigeria, we only need to adjust ourselves to curb the lure of japa,” she reasoned.

To further curb the phenomenon of ‘japa’ she called on the government at all levels to improve on infrastructures for people to be interested in the country. She equally advocated improvement of the educational system as well as the social factors.

In his opening remark, the President/CEO of WorldStage, Mr. Segun Adeleye said WES 2023  was accommodating a special breakout session tagged Startups on WorldStage  with the Theme: ‘The Game Changers’ for founders, startup enthusiasts, corporates, angel investors, and media to network and chart the way forward.

He said, WorldStage, a globally focused media group with strong business/economic contents, is leveraging its capacity to engage the emerging startups and project them for global visibility.

“Data from the National Bureau of Statistics indicated that unemployment and underemployment rates increased to an all-time high of 56.1 percent in 2020, pushing 133 million Nigerians into multidimensional poverty with economic growth not inclusive as it faced key challenges of lower productivity and weak expansion of sectors with high employment elasticity,” he said.

“Getting the youths to work must be an immediate task for the government and will be driven by fixing productivity through combinations of policies that cut across some strategic sectors of the economy.

“Many startups that need to be encouraged are developing technology to solve identified problems in payment systems, insurance, agribusiness, e-commerce among others. The beauty of their emergence is that their concepts are globally acceptable, making them eligible to expand to other countries while attracting foreign exchange and creating new jobs.”