The Association of Corporate Trustees (ACT) has reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that professional trustees embrace modern technological innovation to uphold market integrity.

This was the crux of the conversation of industry experts at the association’s Annual Business Luncheon (ABL) held in Lagos.

Themed: ‘Innovating Trust: The Role of Corporate Trustees in a Digital Financial Ecosystem’, the event aimed at widening the scope of trusteeship service to adopt more innovative digital solutions.

Speaking, ACT President, Omolola Iyinolakan, noted that the luncheon was organised for the purpose of exploring technological solutions to tackle key challenges limiting the growth of Nigeria’s economy and possibly set the right tone for the financial sector in the future.

“As trustees in the Nigerian capital market, we operate with the firm understanding that we are gatekeepers in the capital market, assiduously working with our regulators to continually uphold the integrity of the market and boost the economy at large,” she said.

She noted that the recent digital revolution and the emergence of financial technology have shown that it is no longer business as usual for corporate trustees, and the Nigerian capital market is a crucial part of the financial service infrastructure.

Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Dr Emomotimi Agama, commended the consistent efforts of the association in convening critical dialogues on fiduciary responsibility, market integrity and financial innovation.

Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, commended the consistent efforts of the association in convening critical dialogues on fiduciary responsibility, market integrity and financial innovation.

He noted that the focused topic speaks to the shifting paradigm in Nigeria’s financial market, saying it is pertinent that the association prioritises digitisation training, in digital finance, risk management and data governance to ensure its members remain in the forefront of market intelligence.

The discourse which was a strong handshake between Corporate Trustees and stakeholders in Fintech sector covered issues around the multidimensional regulatory system of Nigeria, cyber security, block chain technologies, financial literacy, smart contracts and safety of virtual assets, and how tech can work effectively to uphold key components of Trusteeship.

In his keynote address, CEO, Zest Payment Limited, Dr. Stanley Jacob, lauded the resilience of Nigeria’s digital financial ecosystem, emphasising that stakeholders have continued to drive expansion despite global investment headwinds.

“28 per cent of all Fintech Companies in Africa are doing business in Nigeria and over 47 per cent of transactions across Africa are consummated in Nigeria. We have also seen enhanced regulatory frameworks, most recent being the Investment and Securities Act of 2025.”

However, he cautioned against rising threats to the ecosystem, noting that fraud incidents increased by over 468 per cent between 2023 and the first nine months of 2024, resulting in financial losses of over ₦50 billion. He stressed that cybersecurity remains a pressing challenge that must be addressed through industry-wide capacity building.

He noted that other challenges affecting payments and investments in Nigeria include cross-border financial barriers; stalled growth of CBN databank currency, stable coin and cryptocurrency and low drive in application of Artificial Intelligence.

“We need to look at how we can adopt Artificial Intelligence and all the auxiliary solutions around it to drive customer experience. We need to get people onboarded easily, get people to invest and when they do, we need to make it easy for them to withdraw when they want to, so that we don’t digitise just one leg. We need to ensure that this solution is full in terms of customer experience because that is the only way that we can build trust in the ecosystem. As we continue the journey of digitisation workstreams, we are excited that people are now coming onboard especially trust practitioners and board members”, he said.

During the panel session, experts from the capital market, legal, tech and regulatory communities charted the next line of action for the trustee space.