By Oluwatoyin Olufon
Reports that OPay is working towards a potential listing in the United States, while PalmPay is exploring a possible listing in Hong Kong, have understandably sparked debate in Nigeria. The question many Nigerians are asking is simple: These companies have built significant businesses in Nigeria. Why should they list abroad? Why not Nigeria? Shouldn’t Nigerians have the opportunity to own a stake in companies they have helped build?
It is a fair question. But I believe the conversation needs to go beyond where OPay or PalmPay may eventually list. It should make us examine a much bigger issue: Is Nigeria’s capital market equipped to provide the scale of capital that successful Nigerian businesses need when they are ready to become global companies?
When a company is young, raising capital can be relatively straightforward. A handful of investors can provide the funding required to develop the product, build a team and establish a presence in the market. But growth changes the equation. As a company becomes larger and begins expanding into new markets, investing heavily in technology, acquiring businesses and competing internationally, its capital requirements can become enormous.
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At that stage, access to deep pools of institutional and international capital becomes increasingly important. The United States has the world’s largest equity market and a particularly deep investor base for technology and high-growth companies. Hong Kong, meanwhile, remains a major international financial centre with strong connections to Asian and global investors.
For companies such as OPay and PalmPay, looking towards these markets could therefore be less about abandoning Nigeria and more about accessing the capital required for their next phase of growth.
There is another dimension that deserves attention. Many of these companies have attracted investors during their early and growth stages. Those investors provided capital when the businesses were still taking significant risks and building their markets. A public listing can eventually provide those early investors with an opportunity to sell some of their shares and realise part of their investment.
From that perspective, pursuing a listing outside Nigeria is not necessarily unusual. It can be a strategic decision driven by the company’s capital requirements, investor base and global ambitions.
But that does not make the Nigerian argument irrelevant. OPay and PalmPay have built significant businesses in Nigeria. Millions of Nigerians interact with their platforms, and the Nigerian market has played an important role in their growth. So it is entirely reasonable to ask whether Nigerian investors should also have the opportunity to own part of these companies.
Yes, we should have that conversation. But perhaps an even more important question is: Why do companies that successfully grow in Nigeria often look outside the country when they reach the stage where they need substantial growth capital?
That question goes far beyond OPay and PalmPay. It is a question about the competitiveness and depth of Nigeria’s capital market. Do we have enough local capital to support companies as they transition from startups into large, globally competitive businesses? Do we have enough institutional investors with the appetite and capacity to invest in high-growth companies?
Are our listing requirements, market structures, liquidity and investor base sufficiently attractive to ambitious businesses? Most importantly, can we build a market where a Nigerian company can confidently say: “This is where we want to raise the next billion dollars.”
These are not questions government alone can answer. Regulators, investors, pension funds, financial institutions, entrepreneurs and the broader business community all have a role to play.
If we want Nigerian businesses to remain Nigerian-owned and Nigerian-listed as they scale, then we must create a capital market capable of supporting that ambition.
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The debate should therefore not be reduced to whether OPay or PalmPay lists in Lagos, New York or Hong Kong. The bigger opportunity is to learn from their growth.
If Nigerian companies can build businesses large enough to attract global investors, then Nigeria should also be building a financial system capable of retaining more of that value and giving local investors meaningful opportunities to participate in their growth.
The objective should not be to discourage Nigerian companies from accessing global capital. It should be to make Nigeria itself an increasingly compelling destination for global-scale capital. That is the conversation we should be having.
Because the real question is not simply, “Where will OPay or PalmPay list?” It is: “What must Nigeria do to become the market where its biggest and most ambitious companies can raise the capital they need to grow?”
That is a much bigger conversation, and one we cannot afford to avoid.
Toyin Olufon is the the Principal Consultant at Lefort Consulting Limited, Toyin. She’s a seasoned Finance and Business Professional with extensive years of experience in business solutions, Corporate Reporting, Tax, Business, and Financial Advisory. She is an INSEAD Alumni, a Fellow member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (United Kingdom), an Associate Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ACA), and an Associate member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (ACTI).
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