Bamboo, a Nigerian investment tech startup, has received a digital sub-broker licence from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Nigeria. The licence allows the company to operate within the Nigerian capital market and offer Nigerian securities on its platform.
The platform which was established in 2019 was previously only active in the US stock markets. It allowed users to invest in their preferred publicly-listed US firms, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), mutual funds, or fixed-income products, with the option of investing fractional amounts. However, the goal of the startup is to enable Africans to invest in local and foreign asset classes in real-time.
By granting Bamboo the licence, the SEC ensures oversight of the company’s association with its sponsoring broker, Lambeth Capital, and allows it to form partnerships with multiple brokers to serve its clients. The licence will facilitate Bamboo’s ability to enhance its partnerships with financial service providers for the provision of API services.
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Richmond Bassey, CEO and Co-Founder of Bamboo Africa in announcing the news noted,
“We are thrilled to reach this important milestone and are fully committed to our obligations as a registered digital broker. Since the launch of Bamboo, we work every day to provide the best technology solutions, backed by industry best practices, to allow Nigerian retail investors to access an unprecedented number of digital securities to build long-term wealth. We are grateful for our collaboration with the SEC, which has shown its dedication to protecting investors while allowing for innovation to flourish,”
In 2022, Bamboo raised $33.6 million in 6 funding rounds from 16 investors and expanded its market into Ghana. By September, the startup through its partnership with a Ghanaian firm, 10th Capital Investments was able to enable Ghanaians to buy and invest in US stocks.
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In Nigeria, Bamboo has over 300,000 users, of which about 20% are active users. However, in April 2021, the company encountered a setback when Nigeria’s SEC classified it, alongside other retail investment apps like Trove, Chaka, and Rise, as illegal. Consequently, operators in the capital market were cautioned against engaging with them. In light of the SEC’s action, the CBN froze the bank accounts of these companies and revoked their operating licences.
Despite all these setbacks, the team at Bamboo noted that they remain committed to working “very closely with regulators in Nigeria” to ensure mutual satisfaction between both parties. This licence from the SEC attests to the commitment of Bamboo’s team.
