By Radarr Africa Business Desk
LAGOS, October 29 (Radarr Africa) – Nigeria’s commercial paper market has grown beyond N1.9 trillion, the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Emomotimi Agama, has said, presenting the short-term debt market as a stepping stone for companies that want to raise capital through public offerings later, Nairametrics reported.
Agama made the remarks on the Duke in Business podcast, according to the report. He said the market was growing at a pace he called “unbelievable” and put its size at “over 1.9 trillion” as of the interview.
Commercial paper is short-term debt that companies use to meet short-term liquidity needs. Agama acknowledged that issuers in the market are not necessarily listed on the stock exchange, but said taking part can prepare them for future initial public offerings, the report said. He said the SEC is encouraging companies with suitable structures, governance, audited annual financial statements and transparent operations to take part.
He also described the SEC’s approach over the past two and a half years as focused on compliance rather than penalties. “If I get you to comply, I don’t need to fine you,” Agama said, according to Nairametrics. He added that the commission’s income from non-compliance has fallen as more firms comply.
Agama was also asked about concerns that five stocks make up more than 67% of the stock market’s valuation. He said the priority is to widen participation through financial literacy, investor advocacy and showing the market’s value to investors, Nairametrics reported.
Nairametrics supplied its own figures for the third quarter of 2026. It said 23 companies brought commercial paper offers to the money market, targeting N446.1 billion across 43 series. Their programmes carry a combined registered size of N1.98 trillion.
The ten largest offers sought N350 billion between them, equal to 78.5% of total targeted issuance in the quarter. According to the report, all ten were mainly for working capital. Two of the ten were non-interest commercial paper structured under a Murabahah arrangement.
Nairametrics explained that under such a structure a special purpose vehicle buys commodities or assets for the borrower and sells them on deferred payment at an agreed profit rate. It described the arrangement as a Shariah-compliant alternative to discount-based commercial paper.
The SEC sees the market as a way to introduce firms to the discipline of raising money from investors. Nairametrics said the regulator views commercial paper as helping companies learn capital-raising requirements and investor expectations before they approach the equity market.
The article linked the quarterly figures to Nairametrics’ earlier analysis of the largest commercial paper offers in the third quarter of 2026, in which it also reported the Murabahah structures.
Agama’s comments come as the SEC continues to promote broader participation in the capital market. Radarr Africa reported on 20 October that the federal government is targeting 20 million investors and a $1 trillion capital market by 2036.
