The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)/Nigerian Capital Markets Institute (NCMI) and the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) have commenced a partnership, which will continue the NCMI’s important mission to be a catalyst for capital market growth in Africa.The NCMI is the educational and training arm of the Nigerian capital markets regulator, the SEC.At the signing ceremony in Lagos Tuesday, Acting Director General of the SEC, Ms. Mary Uduk said the vision of the SEC management is for the NCMI to become a world-class training institute and the first amongst its peers adding that It is in furtherance of this vision that the Commission entered into the partnership with the CISI (UK) to ensure professionalism in the market.“As you all know, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has a dual mandate to regulate and develop the Nigerian capital market. In furtherance of its developmental mandate, the Nigerian Capital Market Institute (NCMI) was established in 2004 to promote human capacity development and bridge the knowledge gap in the financial services sector with particular reference to the capital markets.“The Nigerian Capital Market Institute (NCMI) offers a wide range of specialized training designed to equip market practitioners with the skills and technical knowledge needed for the efficient operation of our capital market. The institute also organizes regulatory examinations for sponsored individuals of capital market operators to ensure that they possess the requisite skills, knowledge and competence to engage in capital market operations and also to determine their suitability as fit and proper persons” she stated Uduk said both institutions shall collaborate to develop and strengthen the regulatory examinations currently being run by the NCMI and also work closely to develop Nigeria-specific content for CISI’s professional refresher which shall form part of the Continuous Professional Development (CPD) for market operators in Nigeria.“Finally, the Nigerian Capital Market Institute (NCMI) will undergo the accreditation process and be recognised as an Accredited Training Partner (ATP) of Chartered Institute for Securities and Investments (CISI) which will enable it conduct training sessions for market participants who choose to undertake CISI’s Introduction to Securities and Investments (IISI). To ensure the sustainability of the partnership, train-the-trainer sessions will be delivered to the Nigerian Capital Market Institute (NCMI) trainers” she added.In his remarks, Chief Executive Officer of CISI, Mr. Simon Culhane expressed delight at the collaboration which he said would benefit investors in the capital market greatly. Culhane expressed the optimism that the signing of the agreement would lead to a relationship that would help improve standards in the Nigerian Capital markets in a bid to make it perform better. He said “The CISI is a 45,000 strong, global not-for-profit professional body with members in over 100 countries. It has been working in Africa since 2012 offering exams and membership across the continent, with regulatory approval for its exams in eight countries. It opened its first African office in Kenya in June. Over the last 18 months almost 3,500 CISI exams have been conducted in Africa, making it CISI’s fastest growing market.“The CISI will develop a Nigerian capital market regulatory examination. In combination with CISI’s International Introduction to Securities & Investment, this will form part of the mandatory training for Potential Capital Market Operators (PCMO) run by NCMI.To ensure the sustainability of the partnership, train the trainer sessions will be delivered to NCMI trainers, and the CISI will undertake a process to accredit NCMI as an Accredited Training Partner (ATP) in Nigeria.“The CISI and NCMI will additionally work together to develop continuing professional development (CPD) content specific to the Nigerian capital market which will be available via CISI’s e-learning platform, Professional Refresher”.Praneet Shivaprasad, CISI Senior International Manager said: “We are delighted to partner with NCMI to help support Nigeria’s growing financial services sector. Ensuring practitioners are qualified to global certification standards is crucial in promoting confidence in the Nigerian capital market, protecting investors and stakeholders.”The Acting Managing Director of NCMI, Mr. Ismaila Ville said: it will be beneficial to the Institute and to the Capital market community at large. Particularly that the Institute has been identified by CISI to be an accredited training (ATP) provider that will provide global certification to capital market operators within Nigeria. And this certification is recognised within Nigeria and in the 100 other countries where CISI certification is recognised. “The NCMI is established to provide human capacity development, bridge knowledge gap and train the trainers in the Financial Sector and the Nigerian Capital Market specifically. It serves as the pivot column in the market. It is one of the offshoot of developmental role of SEC as empowered by section 13f of the Investment and Securities Act, No. 27, 2007. Furthermore, the Institute identifies weaknesses in all categories of Financial sectors and the Capital Market community and provide appropriate training to address the knowledge gap.The CISI is also an Associate Member of the Africa Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA) and is in the process of announcing a partnership with the X-Academy, the training institute of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.The CISI’s mission is to help members attain, maintain and develop their knowledge and skills and to promote the highest standards of ethics and integrity in the securities and investment profession.Based in the City of London, with origins in the London Stock Exchange, the CISI is a global organization with representative offices in financial centres such as Barcelona, Colombo, Dubai, Dublin, Edinburgh, London, Manila, Mumbai, Nairobi and Singapore. We work in close cooperation with regulators, firms and other professional bodies worldwide and over 40,000 examinations were sat in 80 countries in the last twelve months. With 45,000 members in 104 countries the CISI is the professional body which sets examinations and offers qualifications for those working in or looking to establish a career in the financial planning, wealth management and capital markets profession.
