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ARTICLE · 24 JUNE 2021

The SEC Regulatory Incubation Program: Building Viable FinTechs In Nigeria

AELEX
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The RI Program is set to commence in the third quarter of 2021 and will have two stages; the Initial Assessment Phase and the Regulatory Incubation Phase.

NigeriaTechnology
Oluwapelumi Omoniyi
Oluwapelumi Omoniyi
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Introduction

The Security and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on 16 June 2021 announced its Regulatory Incubation Program (the "RI Program") for financial technology companies or ("FinTechs") offering services and products in the Nigerian Capital Markets space who are uncertain about their regulatory obligations, but still require some form of regulatory authorisation from SEC before they can commence business1.

In the Regulatory Incubation Guidelines for Specific Category of FinTech Entrepreneurs issued by SEC (the "Guidelines"), the apex securities regulatory body in Nigeria stated that pursuant to Section 38 (2) of the Investment and Securities Act 2007 (the "Act"), it has the power to enable the deepening of the Nigerian Capital Markets through various methods such as the RI Program In the Guidelines, SEC also reiterated that Section 38 (1) of the Act prohibits any expert or professional from carrying out any activity in the Nigerian Capital Markets except it

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