ISA Places Nigeria As Major Player In 4th Industrial Revolution

Experts have said that the Investment and Securities Act (ISA) 2025 has made Nigeria a major player in the fourth Industrial Revolution.

This new reality was the focus of conversations at the Digital Asset Markets Strategy Masterclass Series held in Lagos, where experts and policymakers commended the government on implementing the ISA.

In March 2025, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed landmark legislation into law, empowering the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to oversee digital assets, virtual asset service providers (VASPs), and tokenised securities.

This legislation, it was gathered, brought clarity to a space that has operated in a legal grey area for years.

Known as the Investment and Securities Act (ISA) 2025, the bill created a regulatory framework for digital assets, positioning Africa’s most populous nation to leverage a fast-growing segment of global capital markets to revolutionise its economy, create wealth and lead the pack in blockchain technology.

While speaking at the event, the Director-General of the Nigeria-China Strategic Partnership (NCSP), Joseph Olasunkami Tegbe, noted the importance of leveraging Chinese technology, particularly in the digital asset market and knowledge transfer. He assured that the NCSP is dedicated to supporting the globalisation of Nigeria’s capital market. He outlined the impact of the digital RMB, explaining how Nigeria can leverage and benefit from it.

Speaking further, Tegbe revealed that Nigeria has received over $30 billion in investment commitments and 300 expressions of interest from different Chinese companies within the last five months and will soon sign a pact on ‘Digital RMB’ with China to enable a direct conversion of Naira to Chinese Yuan, thereby reducing the country’s dependency on the Dollar.

“This furthers Nigeria’s relationship with China from a trade relationship to a mutually-beneficial development partnership. He concluded by emphasizing the objectives of the Nigerian-China Strategic Partnership to drive infrastructure development, scale up investments from China, strengthen Nigerian-China trade and economic relations, promote knowledge and financial transparency, and advance cultural exchanges between the two nations,” he added.

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu revealed that the state was set to monetise idle assets and raise a green bond to fund infrastructural development within the state, making it the first subnational to do so. Represented by the Commissioner for Finance, Abayomi Oluyomi, Sanwoolu added that Lagos State is developing a securitisation policy to monetise and liquefy its idle assets to finance its infrastructure needs.

Earlier in his address, the Masterclass Convener, Dr Nicholas Okoye, noted that the digital transformation driving the fourth industrial revolution has touched every industry and is projected to create monumental fortunes for wealth-conscious investors, institutions, Nations, and sub-nationals.

In his words, Okoye, a globally-acclaimed Investment Advisor, stated that

“The most strategic ecosystem of this digital transformation has to be ‘Digital Asset Markets, which includes investment in cryptocurrencies and the tokenisation (digitisation) of traditional asset classes. The proposed full adoption of ‘Digital Asset Markets’ in Nigeria’s capital markets and subsequently across Africa will be a game changer for wealth creation and economic growth sustainability. In addition, it will completely redefine the future of African finance, investment and capital market industries.”

Okoye concluded that the digital assets provide a golden opportunity for Africans to create wealth for all her people, regardless of their vocation and wherever on the planet they may live. The Digital asset markets will provide, for the first time in Nigeria and Africa’s history, a rare and unique opportunity for an accurate measure and a true reflection of Nigeria’s and, subsequently, Africa’s entire wealth position.