Economy
Small Business Owners Can Explore Opportunities in Capital Market—SEC
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Small business owners have been advised to explore the many opportunities in the capital market to expand their business operations.
The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Lamido Yuguda, stated that entrepreneurs in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) could get cheaper funds from the market in different ways.
“The capital market is available to provide funding to businesses. With crowdfunding, a small business can raise money based on certain principles as the SEC has approved this to happen for a certain number of investors and a certain amount at a time,” the DG said at the Gombe State Investment Summit with the theme Industrialisation: The Pathway to Innovation, Transformation, and Development of Gombe.
At the event held last Wednesday, he further said the capital market could play an enormous role in the growth of businesses as they could approach the market for primary offers as well as the secondary market, which smaller companies can access due to the less stringent disclosure requirements.
“There are also huge opportunities available for businesses, especially agro-allied businesses. They can use the commodities market to access high-calibre customers requiring large quantities of agricultural produce. We have licensed six commodities exchanges in Nigeria, and they are very active,” Mr Yuguda added.
He expressed delight that the private sector has ventured into areas like railways, power, and communication, among others that the government hitherto dominated.
“Before now, the government mainly provided a lot of these infrastructures and services, but today we can see the private sector taking over while the government provides the necessary regulatory oversight,” he stated.
Mr Yuguda commended the state government on the resuscitation of the state-owned Gombe State Investment and Property Development Company Limited to serve as a one-stop shop for all investment-related issues to facilitate ease of doing business, adding that small firms can be prepared to access the capital market by such outfits.
He, therefore, expressed the commission’s commitment to working with the state government and other stakeholders to create the necessary awareness.
In his opening remarks, the Governor of Gombe State, Mr Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, said that the state has been committed to human capital development and is working to leverage digital skills to develop the state.
Mr Yahaya disclosed that his administration was also working to provide a solid infrastructure to serve as a catalyst for industrialisation and growth.
“We realized that in order to put our state on the path of sustainable progress and long-term prosperity, we must strategically invest in both human capital and infrastructural development.
“On one hand, human capital development will enable us to equip our teeming youth with the requisite skills, knowledge and expertise to succeed in our rapidly changing digital world.
“To this end, we are working to leverage digital skills and opportunities to develop Gombe into a regional ICT hub in order to harness the creative energies of our youth.
“On the other hand, solid and resilient infrastructure is being put in place to serve as a catalyst for industrialization and growth, unlock opportunities and deliver sustainable prosperity to the people.
“For businesses to thrive, we need collaboration with relevant stakeholders, innovation, risk reduction, as well as sound regulatory framework and sustainable wealth creation.
“We are harmonising taxation, improving efficiency, stamping out corruption, ensuring the security of lives and property and empowering the judiciary to work better,” he said.
The Governor expressed satisfaction with the responses from investors and the business community, as hundreds of investors have expressed interest in operating from the Muhammadu Buhari Industrial Park, and many more are willing.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
