Lagos – The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Friday has received the “Corporate Achievement Award to a Financial Institution” at the inaugural annual Financial Literacy Excellence (FILEX) Awards.
The Award which is aimed at celebrating and recognizing leadership and innovations that promote financial literacy in Nigeria was presented to the Exchange for its annual essay competition and investment education programmes in the capital market.
Speaking at the awards ceremony, Dr. Bola Fajemirokun of DIN Resource Centre said “The Awards celebrate the important work by individuals and organizations aimed at improving knowledge and awareness of financial matters among consumers. Financial Literacy can only be achieved through targeted financial education initiatives and these must be grounded in a thorough understanding of the financial behaviours and attitudes of Nigerian consumers”.
On receiving the award, the Head, Corporate Services Division, NSE, Mr. Bola Adeeko expressed the Exchange’s appreciation stating that Financial Literacy and Investor Education remains at the core of the Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy of the Exchange.
He said, “The NSE will continue to ensure that Investors and the citizenry are equipped with the right knowledge to enable them take sound investment decisions”.
“One of the major vehicles for this is the Annual Essay Competition of the Nigerian Stock Exchange which is in its 16th year. It has inspired over 20,000 young people in over 7,000 secondary schools across Nigeria to showcase what they have learned about financial and capital markets”.
In 2015 alone, the Exchange held over 180 free financial literacy workshops across the federation reaching over 17,000 people. The workshops are aimed at enhancing investor understanding of the basics of capital market investment.
These initiatives are localized investor education events driven through The Exchange’s 13 branch offices, and mostly targeted at low-end retail investors (students, retail traders, etc.). The Nigerian Stock Exchange will continue to champion financial literacy and inclusion initiatives in Nigeria.
