AFEX Commodities Exchange Limited has said it will target institutional and retail investors, brokers and smallholder farmers as key groups of participants in its latest initiative to deepen public knowledge of commodities trading markets tagged ‘EdEX’.
The new learning platform, according to Nigeria’s first private sector commodities exchange firm is informed by the need to simply the understanding of the various wealth creation opportunities along the commodities value chain. These opportunities are considered to have been harnessed by only few investors due to limited understanding of the structure and operations of the market.
AFEX believes that with inclusion and innovation at the heart of current commodity markets, investors can find several routes to participate in the market, provided that they are sufficiently educated and informed about the opportunities present in trading and investing in commodities.
The EdEX platform has been designed to accommodate online trainings, digitally distributed learning materials as well as physical workshops, which will enable AFEX to reach various audience groups and satisfy their unique education needs.
“EdEX is a market education platform designed to help portfolio managers, fund managers, analysts, traders, brokers and risk managers gain an understanding of the commodities markets in Nigeria, and develop products and services around the commodities exchange ecosystem,” Ayodeji Balogun, AFEX’s country manager said in a statement made available to BusinessDay.
Content available on the platform for investors and brokers span across membership procedure, market access, trading strategies and community engagement. For smallholder farmers, a train the trainer model aimed at effective and efficient knowledge dissemination to smallholder farmers on various farm processes and beneficial practices will be adopted.
EdEX aligns with the Security and Exchange Commission’s focus on investor protection and education and is a strategic investment by AFEX, which will grow into an open source library for exchanges in Africa.
“AFEX’s education platform will make the structure and functions of Nigeria’s commodity market accessible knowledge; handing the knowledge needed to navigate today’s commodities markets to anyone desirous of an entry point to trading commodities,” the statement said.
“It will ensure that market participants are educated on the operations of the exchange, products and services available and other essential information that can lead to an increase in income for everyone involved.”
Ahead of the official launch of the platform which will come up during the third quarter of the year, a one-day training workshop was organized for journalists and media personnel in Nigeria. The programme tagged ‘Trading Stories’ was the first leg of EdEX, serving as a platform for media and commodity experts to meet and exchange ideas about the growing commodities market in Nigeria.
Temitayo Ayetoto
