MTN Share Sale Shows Nigeria Can Lure Young Crypto Buyers (1)

Nigeria’s main stock exchange plans to digitize the equity sales process so companies can attract younger buyers interested in cryptocurrencies and foreign assets rather than local public companies.

A successful offering of 575 million shares by MTN Group Ltd.’s Nigerian unit in December was “groundbreaking,” according to Temi Popoola, chief executive officer of the Lagos-based Nigeria Exchange Ltd. The South African wireless carrier offered a stock issue to investors “end to end” electronically for the first time, he said.

The sale was 1.2 times oversubscribed, with 85% of the investors aged under 40 years. This compares with 30% ...