Investor Updates: October 26 2022

Nigerian stock exchange market cap rise by $407m

Highlights

• The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) closed positive on Tuesday amidst buy-interests and sell-offs as bulls dominated proceedings, driving up the broad market by 73 basis points. The All-share Index (ASI) appreciated by 0.73% to close at 44,788.15  points.  
• In the same vein, market capitalization grew by ₦177.84 billion to close at ₦24.39 trillion. The stock market has advanced by 2,071.71 base points since the start of the year.   
• The SWOOTs (stocks worth over one trillion naira) capitalization closed positively, driven by changes in BUACEMENT at the end of the trading session.

Source: Nairametrics

Our Takeaway

On a year-to-date basis, the Nigerian market had returned +4.85% as of Tuesday, making it one of the best-performing bourses in Africa. Assessing the market by price-to-earnings (PE) ratio, a method used by investors and analysts to determine the relative value of a company or stock exchange, the Nigerian stock market is also one of the cheapest (at a price multiple of 6.8x) compared to others in frontier, emerging, and developed economies—including Brazil (7.4x), China (9.4x), Germany (9.8x), the United States (15.5x), and India (19.5x), per Chapel Hill Denham data.

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Egypt’s proptech Seqoon raises $500,000 pre-seed round

Highlights

• Egypt-based real estate co-ownership startup Seqoon, has raised $500,000 in a pre-Seed round through Banque Misr’s pilot program to support startups in the country, with participation from other angel investors.
• Founded in 2022 by Omar Eldessouky and Mohamed Elkhatieb, Seqoon allows users to co-own shares of a vacation home.
• The startup plans to use this fresh capital to grow its team after it has launched its first co-ownership destination in El Gouna.

Source: Wamda

Our Takeaway

In Africa, property technology (proptech) startups are increasingly harnessing software to disrupt and improve real estate markets while serving the needs of young people and businesses. They operate different business models ranging from investment platforms that connect retail investors to real estate assets, to property management and apartment listing platforms. But all seek to tap into opportunities in the African real estate market, estimated to grow to $3.74 trillion this year.

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eNaira records $18m worth of transactions in one year

Highlights

• The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Godwin Emefiele, has revealed that the country’s official digital currency, the eNaira, recorded over 700,000 transactions worth $18 million or ₦8 billion in the one year since its launch.
• The apex bank governor disclosed this in Lagos at a conference to mark the first anniversary of the digital currency.
• In addition to the eNaira, the regulator has plans to introduce more initiatives aimed at ensuring that its cashless policy is implemented throughout the country.

Source: Nairametrics

Our Takeaway
With cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin becoming increasingly popular, central banks across the world have been working towards developing digital currencies of their own. At least 9 countries have launched official digital currencies while 87 others, representing over 90% of global GDP, are exploring a CBDC. In Africa, there is a growing allure of regulated digital currencies among central banks and a recent call for a continental cryptocurrency indicates the era of cash could be drawing to an end. More so, CBDCs represent yet another fintech innovation in Africa, a continent that leads globally when it comes to digital payments.