Nigeria Built a Stock Market Board for Tech Startups. Four Years Later Nobody Has Joined

In December 2022, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) opened a special board just for technology companies. The idea was simple: give startups a way to raise money from everyday Nigerian investors, not only from foreign VCs.

Almost four years later, not a single tech startup has listed on it. Not one of the more than 900 Nigerian startups tracked by Crunchbase has tapped the country's stock market through the board.

And while the board sits empty, one of the most-used payment apps in Nigeria is heading to New York.

OPay picks Wall Street

On October 9, OPay filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker OPAY. The numbers in the filing explain why investors are paying attention.

Revenue more than doubled to $467.1 million in the first half of 2026, up from $197.5 million a year earlier.

Net income jumped to $90.9 million from $21.7 million.

Stanbic Africa Holdings, part of Standard Bank Group, plans to invest up to $200 million alongside the IPO.

OPay says it plans a secondary listing in Nigeria after New York. That is good news, but it means Nigerians would get a seat at the table only after foreign investors have had first pick.

Why founders are staying away

TheCable spoke to founders and tech leaders about why the board is empty. Their answers fall into three buckets.

Policy risk. Founders worry that one sudden government policy could wipe out a big chunk of their business, and a public company has nowhere to hide when that happens.

Open books. Listing means publishing your financials. Many startups would rather keep their numbers private until they hit bigger milestones.

Weak buying power. When most Nigerians are budgeting for food and data, few have spare cash for shares. A thin pool of local buyers makes a local listing less attractive.

There is also a simple awareness gap. Many founders were raised on the VC playbook and have never seriously looked at the stock market as an option.

The NGX is asking for help

In August, NGX Group CEO Temi Popoola raised the issue with President Bola Tinubu. He named OPay and PalmPay as companies that make their money in Nigeria but are considering listings abroad, and asked for support to push dual listings so Nigerians can share in that wealth.

What this means for you

Every time a Nigerian tech giant lists abroad first, ordinary Nigerians miss the early growth of companies built on their own transactions. Watch two things over the next year: whether OPay follows through on a Nigerian listing, and whether the government turns Popoola's request into actual policy. If neither happens, expect the tech board to stay empty.

Sources: TheCable and Bizcommunity