Dipo Olowookere
By Dipo Olowookere
Efforts are being made to attract capital market funding to the Nigerian Agricultural Commodities Ecosystem.
In order to make this a reality, the AFEX Commodities Exchange Limited (AFEX) and FMDQ Holdings Plc have agreed to work together.
Both parties said they will introduce new products aimed at de-risking the value chain and diversify the existing products available to investors in this space.
According to the parties, the sole aim of this collaboration is to solidify their mutual interest in developing products to deepen the Nigerian capital market.
Key on the roster of positive impact that will stem from the partnership between the two organisations registered by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is the unlocking of additional sources of finance for the agriculture sector in Nigeria.
Products developed under this new partnership will support innovative financing structures for the sector that will leverage AFEX’s established infrastructure and supply chain network and FMDQ’s extensive experience as innovators in the Nigerian financial markets.
Chief Executive Officer of FMDQ Group, Mr Bola Onadele Koko, stated that, “We are delighted to announce this collaboration agreement between FMDQ and AFEX.
“As members of the SEC’s Implementation Committee on Commodities Trading Ecosystem, an area of focus for this partnership will be the Nigerian Agricultural Commodities Ecosystem.
“Our goal at FMDQ is to support the growth of the sector through commercial and market-driven propositions.
“Through the partnership, we will be introducing new products aimed at de-risking the value chain, attracting capital market funding to the sector and diversifying the existing products available to investors in this space.”
Also speaking, the CEO of AFEX, Mr Ayodeji Balogun, said his organisation was “on a path to building Africa’s second commodities derivative market, and this partnership sets the tone for that journey.”
“We are extremely proud to be collaborating with FMDQ, as this helps our goal of increasing our product offerings to investors.
“We see a clear path to product innovation that will unlock a wider range of products that are able to be traded within Nigeria’s capital markets, promoting broad-based wealth creation that’s accessible to every Nigerian,” he added.
