The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Nigeria, in collaboration with the Nigerian Capital Market Institute (NCMI), is gearing up for its 2025 Compliance Summit, scheduled for November 24–25 at the Lagos Oriental Hotel. This year’s event promises to be transformative, placing technology-led compliance, regulatory reforms, and innovation at the very heart of discussions.
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Balancing Innovation and Regulation
Under the theme “Innovation and Compliance – Balancing Risks and Opportunities,” the summit aims to foster a forward-looking compliance framework tailored for the rapidly changing capital market landscape. While last year’s event laid groundwork, this edition reflects a more deliberate and sharper focus on technology, transparency, and resilience in regulatory oversight.
The SEC has made no secret of its priorities. In its statement, the Commission emphasises reforming the Investments and Securities Act (ISA) and integrating cutting-edge compliance tools like RegTech and data analytics. By doing so, Nigeria aims to strike a sustainable balance — embracing innovation without compromising on investor protection or market integrity.
Key Themes: Risk, Technology, and Governance
Among the most anticipated discussions are those centred on real-time transaction monitoring and the harnessing of analytics to curb systemic risk. The summit will highlight how RegTech — regulatory technology — is no longer a nice-to-have, but a necessity in today’s digitised financial markets.
Board-level ownership of compliance is another significant agenda item. The SEC argues that compliance should not be siloed within a department; instead, it must be woven into corporate strategy. To that end, senior management and boards will be pressed to embrace stronger accountability and a culture of regulatory responsibility.
AML (Anti‑Money Laundering) and CFT (Counter Financing of Terrorism) compliance will also feature prominently, especially as Nigeria intensifies its dialogue on beneficial ownership transparency and customer due diligence. The SEC has pointed to growing public‑private partnerships to strengthen Nigeria’s defences against financial crime.
Why the Summit Matters
For many stakeholders — fintech innovators, regulatory bodies, self-regulatory organisations, and compliance officers — the summit offers a rare chance to take stock, network, and shape the future.
- Regulatory Clarity
Experts will dissect the newly reformed ISA, helping market participants understand their evolving obligations. - Capacity Building
By convening compliance professionals and tech innovators, the summit fosters shared learning, helping operators build robust, future-ready compliance systems. - Resilience Through Innovation
Introducing RegTech and data analytics into compliance practices can strengthen real-time surveillance, reduce risk, and improve enforcement capacity. - Strengthening Governance
Through high-level dialogues, the event will reinforce the role of boards and senior leadership in embedding compliance as a core corporate value.
Speaking to a New Reality
The urgency for a technology-first compliance framework couldn’t come at a more critical time.
As digitisation sweeps through Nigeria’s capital market, FinTech platforms and Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) continue gaining traction. The growth of these players introduces fresh risk vectors — from money laundering to fraud — making traditional compliance tools increasingly inadequate.
To address these emerging risks, the SEC sees the summit as a strategic convening point for regulators, innovators, and market operators to reconcile regulatory expectations with the reality of a modern, digital market.
Beyond Compliance: A Vision for the Future
The 2025 summit is not merely about enforcement. According to the SEC, it represents a vision — one in which regulation and innovation are not adversaries, but partners in building a more resilient, transparent, and trusted capital market.
Part of that vision includes clearer governance frameworks, with boards and senior management playing a more active role in compliance strategy. There’s also a strong emphasis on public-private collaboration, particularly as it pertains to AML/CFT efforts, which remain crucial in Nigeria’s efforts to improve financial integrity.
By rallying Compliance Officers, self-regulatory bodies, fintech innovators, and regulators, the summit aims to spark a broader consensus on how Nigeria can future‑proof its regulatory regime.
The Road Ahead
As Nigeria’s capital market continues to expand and digitise, the outcomes of the summit could have wide-reaching implications.
- Will companies adopt RegTech solutions aggressively after the summit?
- Will the ISA reforms embed stronger compliance enforcement mechanisms?
- And perhaps most critically, will boardrooms across Nigeria institutionalise compliance as a strategic pillar, rather than relegating it to a box‑ticking exercise?
These are the big questions on the table.
As Nigeria positions itself as a frontier for fintech-led innovation, regulatory forums like this 2025 Compliance Summit are becoming more than routine conferences — they are strategic levers for shaping the future of market integrity and investor confidence.
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