Caption: From left, Chim Chalemera, Country Director, Department for Business and Trade (DIT), British High Commission; Sally Woolhouse, Charge d’affaires (Head of Economic Development, Climate and Energy); Temi Popoola, Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX); Rt. Hon. James Cleverly, MP, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs; Alhaji (Dr) Umaru Kwairanga, Group Chairman, Nigerian Exchange Group Plc; Richard Montgomery CMG, British High Commissioner to Nigeria; Jude Chiemeka, Divisional Head, Capital Markets, NGX; Morayo Adekunle, Deputy Country Director and Investment Officer Department for Business and Trade (DIT) British High Commission.

The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) is to partner the UK government’s Mobilising Institutional Capital Through Listed Product Structures (MOBILIST) programme for greater investment toward achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa through products listed on the Exchange.
The UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly announced this on Tuesday, 1 August 2023, during a courtesy call to the NGX trading floor as part of his two-day visit to Nigeria, where he noted that collaboration can help catalyse and scale up public market investment products that support the climate transition and SDGs.
The MOBILIST programme aims to unlock the potential of public capital markets for sustainable finance in emerging markets and developing economies.
According to the OECD, Africa’s sustainable financing gap until 2030 amounts to about $1.6tr and the continent needs about $194bn in additional funding annually to achieve the SDGs by that year.
MOBILIST, the statement noted, was created to help direct some of the $250tr in private capital currently held in products listed on global stock exchanges to help meet this financing gap.
According to Cleverly, the new partnership between Nigerian Exchange and MOBILIST “will bring capital markets more squarely into financing economic development. It will support the climate transition and the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).
MOBILIST supports new listings on public stock exchanges. That could be here in Nigeria, in Johannesburg or London. And that support could be technical, research based, or could include equity investment from the UK government.
Developing countries need at least $3.9tr in additional financing per year to achieve the SDGs. MOBILIST will help. And it’s just one of British Investment Partnership’s programmes.”
For Abubakar Mahmoud, Chairman of the NGX, “the UK remains Nigeria’s critical partner; especially in the areas of trade, exports, business, and investment and we welcome its government’s partnership on MOBILIST, which is in line with NGX’s long-term interest to direct greater investments towards achieving the UN SDGs through listed products. We will continue to forge strong partnerships that will foster the sustainable development of the Nigerian economy.”
On his part, Temi Popoola, NGX’s CEO, the bourse “remains firmly dedicated to promoting sustainable finance in Nigeria. This commitment drives us to continuously seek strategic partnerships with key stakeholders, including the UK Government. The Exchange, in collaboration with the Nigerian Government and industry stakeholders, played a leading role in advocating for and successfully issuing the inaugural green bond in 2017. Our collaboration on the MOBILIST program aims to further enhance our efforts in making the Nigerian capital market an attractive hub for investments that foster sustainable capital formation.”