The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is pushing towards broadening retail investor participation and leveraging technology to deepen market access across all income demographics with a planned launch of new Capital Market Master Plan 2.0 at its 2026 National Capital Market Conference in Abuja.
The capital market regulator disclosed in a release on Wednesday that the conference will also launch the National Savings Scheme, a retail-focused platform designed to broaden participation in the capital market.
Vice-President Senator Kashim Shettima is expected to attend as Special Guest of Honour, while Finance Minister, Taiwo Oyedele, will serve as Chief Host at the conference expected to hold mid-October at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The new Master Plan 2.0 builds on the legacy of the original 10-year master plan launched in 2014, which was revised in 2022 to reflect dynamism in the market and developments in financial technology, according to prior reports.
The revised iteration incorporated technology and inclusion imperatives. The 2.0 version now prioritises retail democratisation—a deliberate strategic shift toward expanding capital market access beyond institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals.
SEC Director-General Dr. Emomotimi Agama framed the Master Plan 2.0 as foundational to the National Savings Scheme, a retail-focused investment vehicle designed to provide Nigerians across income groups with opportunities to save and invest for the future.
Agama noted that tax incentives will be embedded in the scheme to encourage participation, aligning with the Federal Government’s fiscal policy direction of providing tax relief for citizens earning below specified thresholds.
This savings sheme echoes the SEC’s broader commitment to financial inclusion.
Recently, the SEC launched the spoken-word version of the Investments and Securities Act 2025 (ISA 2025) in December 2025, aimed at enhancing public understanding of the law and making it more accessible to Nigerians, further underlining the agency’s push for broader market participation.
Beyond the Master Plan 2.0 launch, the October conference will feature:
These structures establish accountability mechanisms for execution; a lesson learned from previous plan cycles where implementation lags often frustrated stakeholder expectations.
The Master Plan 2.0 represents a maturation of the SEC’s developmental mandate.
Rather than focus solely on market size and international competitiveness, the new roadmap prioritises accessibility and financial inclusion.
The embedding of the National Savings Scheme within the broader Master Plan framework suggests the SEC views retail participation as essential to sustainable capital market growth with emphasis on technology, financial literacy, and tax-incentivised saving vehicles for retail investors.
