Economy
Investors Eye Nigeria’s Multi-Billion Dollar Retail Market
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The convergence of AI, tech, and data on Nigeria’s multi-billion dollar plus retail market will be a strategic focus to local and international developers, investors and retailers at the 4th annual West Africa Property Investment Summit taking place on November 15 and 16, 2018 in Lagos.
Considered one of the world’s most significant and accessible investment opportunities, the opportunity in the country has long whet the appetites of the world’s capital movers; however, for many, the opportunity has been missed or misjudged to a lack of relevant, actionable and useful data.
One of the emerging thought leaders in the field is Ali Djire, the country head of Fraym, who believes that embracing a data-driven approach to retail will prevent further Nakumatt styled retail implosions. In a market under pressure with retailers struggling with underperforming new locations due to steep competition and a lack of critical consumer mix, access to data is increasingly transforming the fortunes of companies in the sector.
Says Djire, “The need for a data-driven approach is becoming an imperative for retailers to not only inform what products to carry on the shelf, but also to get unprecedented insights into where to locate their stores, how to price based on ability to pay, and how to respond to competition.”
According to Djire, retail currently accounts for 16% of the Nigerian GDP and is viewed by many as a new frontier of growth for local and international investors.
A view which is shared by Jan Van Zyl, head of property development for leading pan-Africa real estate development fund, Novare Equity Partners.
“Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa. Therefore, you cannot brand yourself as a Sub-Saharan Fund and not have a presence in Nigeria.” Adding that the fund is also looking at options in Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire.
While the scale of the opportunity in Nigeria has attracted many entrants over the past decade, experienced investors and developers understand that the formal retail market is limited and dynamic that can grow exponentially.
As Van Zyl explains, “We believe that we are at the right place, at the right time, and we have invested in four shopping centres in Nigeria since 2010 with a book value in excess of $300 million.”
As one of Africa’s bullish international funds in real estate on the continent, the pan-Africa fund is in the country for the long-term. However, while the recovery over the last 12 months has been slow, Van Zyl argues that this is not a Nigerian, but an emerging market phenomenon.
“Combined with elections in February 2019, we find that many potential new entrants are waiting on the sidelines until the uncertainty surrounding an election period has settled. It is important to note that, such a cycle is not Nigeria specific, but is experienced in most emerging markets throughout Africa and other continents.” However, he does note that there has been a trend of decreasing the size of future shopping centre developments in the current market, which is one way in which the market has recalibrated to cope with market relating to the recession.
For Kfir Rusin, the Managing Director of the WAPI Summit, the advent of data and new technologies are critical to quickening the somewhat slow pace of recovery in the retail sector post-recession.
“As a pioneer in their field, Fraym’s use of Geospatial data, AI and Machine Learning technologies can provide actionable intelligence on communities down to 1 square kilometre across the country. This unique and relevant data has the potential to be transformative catalyst of growth for the retail sector.”
With such useful smart data increasingly, many large market layers are actively recalibrating their approach. As Djire reveals, “We are actively working with global investment players, development organisations, as well as local companies, to get actionable market insights. Through our data, we are seeing early signs of companies leveraging Fraym’s geospatial data platform to streamline their operations and retail strategy. We see a growing need for actionable data for companies to be able to make effective decisions.”
As Rusin says, “This year’s West Africa Property Investments (WAPI) Summit will provide a platform for the traditional retail sector to network and realise the real-world benefits of how relevant data and tech is essential to growing the formal retail sector.”
For Djire, WAPI is a platform for engagement. As he says, “WAPI is the platform where the message of a data approach in retail could gain grounds. There is a unique opportunity to engage directly with decision-makers, demystify the concept of [geospatial] data, walk them through the idea of a data approach and how it could affect their business and bottom line. More importantly, it’s an opportunity to hear from them about the ways they think about the market, their business, and their consumers, to ensure that we’re all on the same wavelength.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of MRS Oil and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.68 per cent on Friday, June 5.
MRS Plc lost N19.00 during the session to sell at N171.00 per share compared with Thursday’s value of N190.00 per share, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc depreciated by N8.70 to finish at N181.68 per unit compared with the preceding session’s N190.38 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation further lost N22.59 billion to close at N2.607 trillion versus the N2.630 trillion it ended a day earlier, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) dropped 37.76 points to settle at 4,358.32 points, in contrast to the previous day’s 4,396.08 points.
The alternative stock market closed the last trading day of this week with a price gainer, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which gained 6 Kobo to quote at N78.40 per share compared with the preceding session’s N78.34 per share. However, it could not prevent the market from going down at the close of business.
Yesterday, the volume of securities bought and sold by investors went down by 50.0 per cent to 140,345 units from the preceding day’s 280,714 units, the value of stocks decreased by 16.5 per cent to N17.9 million from the previous session’s N21.5 million, and the number of deals carried out by market participants fell by 35.7 per cent to 27 deals from the 42 deals recorded on Thursday.
When trading activities closed for the day, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 64.7 million units traded for N4.4 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
Renewed interest in financial stocks and others lifted the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited by 0.15 per cent on Friday.
Customs Street closed higher yesterday despite the 1.37 per cent loss recorded by the consumer goods sector as a result of profit-taking.
This was offset by gains in the other key sectors of the local bourse, as the insurance counter chalked up 1,14 per cent. The banking space appreciated by 0.90 per cent, the industrial goods segment grew by 0.46 per cent, and the energy sector expanded by 0.01 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 366.00 points to 242,593.31 points from 242,227.31 points, and the market capitalisation gained N235 billion to close at N155.594 trillion compared with the previous day’s N155.359 trillion.
The trio of International Energy Insurance, Abbey Mortgage Bank, and DAAR Communications improved by 10.00 per cent each yesterday to N7.26, N9.35, and N1.98, respectively, while Zichis advanced by 9.39 per cent to N32.38, with Sovereign Trust Insurance up by 8.70 per cent to N2.50.
On the flip side, Academy Press lost 9.84 per cent to quote at N8.25, University Press depreciated by 9.73 per cent to N5.10, Africa Prudential dipped by 2.63 per cent to N12.95, Chams crumbled by 2.44 per cent to N4.00, and International Breweries slipped by 1.59 per cent to N12.35.
Business Post reports that the market breadth index was positive during the session after recording 37 appreciating equities and 14 depreciating equities, implying strong investor sentiment.
Abbey Mortgage Bank led the activity chart with a turnover of 164.1 million units worth N1.5 billion, Ellah Lakes sold 76.7 million units for N767.2 million, Access Holdings transacted 44.8 million units valued at N1.1 billion, Linkage Assurance exchanged 23.0 million units worth N41.2 million, and The Initiates traded 20.2 million units for N562.1 million.
At the close of trades, market participants transacted 608.5 million units worth N32.0 billion in 53,826 deals versus the 588.5 million units valued at N27.9 billion executed in 57,352 deals in the previous session. This showed that the number of deals eased by 6.15 per cent, the volume of transactions rose by 3.40 per cent, and the value of transactions soared by 14.70 per cent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira further depreciated against the United States Dollar by N3.46 or 0.25 per cent to N1,362.21/$1 from N1,358.75/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, June 5.
However, it appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market window during the session by N4.47 to trade at N1,823.59/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,828.06/£1, and gained N7.00 against the Euro to sell at N1,574.58/€1, in contrast to Thursday’s closing price of N1,581.58/€1.
For another trading session, the Nigerian Naira maintained stability against the Dollar in the parallel market and the GTBank forex counter on Friday at N1,375/$1 and N1,372/$1, respectively.
The Naira is expected to remain strong in the near term, backed by a rise in external reserves, which are nearing $50 billion, enhancing analysts’ confidence about its outlook in the second half of 2026.
Heightened global uncertainty has reduced the incentive for importers and corporates to demand FX, as cautious trade weighs on import needs. Analysts estimate a $40 billion net FX position for the year, a projection anchored in oil windfall gains.
As for the cryptocurrency market, prices remained depressed following a strong US jobs report that spurred markets to price in higher-for-longer interest rates, sending Treasury yields and the dollar up while hammering stocks, especially AI-related names. Crypto markets saw heavy leverage washouts with about $1.6 billion in positions liquidated over 24 hours.
Ethereum (ETH) gave up 4.9 per cent to trade at $1,584.68, Solana (SOL) fell by 3.3 per cent to $63.22, Bitcoin (BTC) crashed by 1.9 per cent to $61,333.23, Dogecoin (DOGE) slipped by 1.8 per cent to $0.0821, and Ripple (XRP) moderated by 1.8 per cent to $1.09.
Further, TRON (TRX) dropped 1.6 per cent to sell at $0.3197, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 1.0 per cent to $581.18, and Cardano (ADA) declined by 0.4 per cent to $0.1589, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) gained 0.07 to sell at $0.9997, and US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $0.9998.
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