Determined to close the knowledge gap in financial market, TigerWit Africa, a brokerage firm that offers forex, has trained over 840 Nigerians in a two-week workshop in Port-Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
The two-week training, facilitated by Davies Babalola, head of education at TigerWit Africa, and his team through the TigerWit Academy, was on the mission to save Nigerians from losing income in this time of bleeding economy and global pandemic.
In an interview with journalists, Babalola noted that TigerWit Academy has been passionate about helping people after it noticed a knowledge gap in the industry.
“A lot of people lose money blindly which is unnecessary. If we can help them trade longer, we can be guaranteed a sustained client-base in the long run, a win-win situation,” he said.
According to him, one lesson from COVID-19 is “that you can’t depend on one source of income; you need a source of income that is not dependent on the economy of your nation”.
The forex expert also lamented the depreciation of the naira which has put people “in a very tough situation”, adding, however, that there is still opportunity in technology.
“That naira is degrading doesn’t mean the whole world is also. So, can we take advantage of technology? COVID-19 taught us that what if the whole world is on lockdown and everybody can’t go out, how do you make money and feed?” he said.
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Babalola confirmed that in the heat of the chaotic lockdown, forex trading had the largest Google search keywords.
“Search like forex trading online business, home trading, digital marketing was what everybody was doing,” he said.
To begin the business, the expert said one needs a laptop, mobile phone that can do WhatsApp, and one must be above 18 years of age.
“You don’t have any overhead. The only thing you need is to set up an account with your broker, then put in $100 or $200 dollars,” Babalola said.
He said that while the interest rates on fixed deposits from banks may not enticing enough, forex is profitable from the start.
“However, we dissuaded beginners from going for big profits. Two, three or five percent on a monthly basis is okay for you, not going for 20 or 30 percent. Let it compound for six months or one year, you will see a whole game change,” he said.
The participants at the training included retirees, pensioners, and students, and half of them were female.
After equipping the beneficiaries with knowledge and skills, TigerWit Academy also established a social media account as a follow-up mechanism.
“We have been doing webinars for them; we have an online academy fully set up so we give them login access that they can plug in to and continue to study at their convenience,” Babalola said.
He inspired confidence in beginners that when they try it themselves, they can grow.
“You will fall and rise up but with the knowledge you have gained,” he said.
The firm also gave out $1,750 to three attendees to encourage them to start out trading. While the first runner up got $1,000, the second and third received $500 and $250, respectively.
“They won a raffle draw. This is a clear indication that TigerWit is intentionally committed to seeing Nigerians succeed,” he said.
According to Babalola, TigerWit Academy had eyes on Port-Harcourt following a recent ponzi scheme fallout.
Having empowered residents of Port-Harcourt, TigerWit Academy plans to replicate the same in Abuja, then Uyo, the Akwa-Ibom State capital.
“We have set up a system that will make it sort of auto run. That is why we set up the online academy, which we are leveraging on to go round,” he said.
