Lagos Finance Summit brings Africa’s largest retail trading market onto one floor as SEC drafts forex rules

Organisers of the Lagos Finance Summit 2026 (LFS 2026) say the industry’s flagship meeting point should be where the market is. The three-day event, from 14 to 16 October at the Landmark Event
Centre, Victoria Island, brings brokers, prop trading firms, fintechs, payment providers, banks, investors and traders together in a market organisers describe as Africa’s largest for retail trading.

The industry’s major gatherings have so far been held in Dubai, Limassol, Cape Town and Bangkok. LFS 2026 expects more than 5,000 attendees and over 100 platforms.

The timing coincides with the SEC’s draft Rules on Online Forex Trading and CFDs, published on 1 September under the Investments and Securities Act 2025. The draft proposes minimum paid-up capital of ₦3 billion for market-making brokers, ₦2 billion for straight-through-processing and ECN brokers, and ₦5 billion for technology and platform providers. It would also require client funds to be held in segregated accounts at CBN-licensed banks and extend to offshore platforms that target
Nigerian residents. Existing operators would have three months to apply for registration and six months to comply.

The rules are proposals, are not in force and may change. On Thursday, 15 October, a dedicated Regulation Forum will work through the proposals section by section with brokers, introducing brokers, CBN-licensed banks, platform providers, counsel and traders.
It will produce a written industry response for submission to the Commission.

Musa Kabul, Head of Marketing & Promotion at LFS, said: “For years the platforms that serve millions of
Nigerian traders have met each other in Dubai and Cyprus, and met their Nigerian clients through a
support ticket.” He added: “That is where the next phase of this market gets decided by the people in it.”

For firms already serving Nigerian clients, or weighing entry, LFS 2026 offers Headline, Diamond, Platinum, Gold and Silver sponsorship positions and exhibition booths across three grades, with access to traders, partners, banks and payment providers over three days.