The New Apply (TNP), a commercially oriented regulation agency with a vibrant workforce of business-savvy attorneys and a world outlook of tax consultants, has urged Nigerian startups and SMEs to rethink their enterprise fashions and embrace debt market financing as a sensible pathway to scaling sustainably.
TNP made this case at a roundtable and media parley held at its Lagos headquarters, themed ‘Scaling Smarter: Debt Markets as a Development Catalyst for Startups.’ The occasion introduced collectively regulators from the capital market ecosystem, credit standing consultants, threat managers, tax consultants, buyers, and different stakeholders, and was led by companions from the agency.
Presenting its place, the agency defined why debt market financing is changing into an more and more stronger different to fairness for Nigerian startups, arguing that debt naturally encourages founders to remain alert, disciplined, and financially accountable. This steerage comes amid new revelations that many startup founders lack sufficient information of what’s required to boost debt from the capital markets.
The dialogue featured a powerful lineup of audio system, together with the Group CEO of NGX Group, Temi Popoola; Sector Head for Non-Financial institution Monetary Establishments at GCR Nigeria, Timchang Gwatau; Founder and CEO of Payaza Africa, Seyi Ebenezer; and Lead, Structured Merchandise at Norrenberger, Adedayo Aderoju.
Talking on the session, NGX Group CEO,Temi Popoola, pressured that capital market regulators should undertake a extra pro-market stance to enhance reforms and market accessibility. He emphasised that the boundaries to coming into the debt market have dropped considerably through the years.
“What was as soon as a device used nearly completely by Nigeria’s largest corporates is now accessible to smaller corporations,” Popoola mentioned, noting that over N1 trillion price of economic papers have been issued in 2025 alone, proof of how vital the instrument has develop into for short-term financing.
He credited a lot of this progress to the Securities and Change Fee (SEC), saying in the present day’s regulators are extra market-supportive than ever.
Additionally talking, GCR Nigeria’s Sector head for Non-Financial institution Monetary Establishments, Timchang Gwatau, suggested SMEs to strengthen their company governance as they contemplate approaching the debt markets. Good governance, he mentioned, is essential to accessing structured finance.
He defined that earlier than coming into the debt market, whether or not by way of bonds or business papers, corporations should sometimes safe a credit standing. The method, he mentioned, rests on 4 pillars, and these pillars reduce throughout the working setting, which represents Nigeria’s wealth ranges, buying energy, and macroeconomic circumstances, shaping the baseline threat for any entity.
Secondly, some sectors are inherently extra resilient. Banking and telecoms, he famous, presently stand out as credit-resilient industries.
Lastly is the monetary profile, which Timchang in his assertion mentioned, including that, “Past previous numbers, analysts contemplate the corporate’s future outlook. Early-stage corporations can compensate for monetary weaknesses with robust governance and structural self-discipline.”
He added that, constant, long-term banking relationships additionally assist strengthen an organization’s qualitative evaluation, whereas sudden shifts in financiers can elevate purple flags.
For his half, Payaza Africa CEO, Seyi Ebenezer, shared the story of how his firm leveraged the debt market to scale.
“After we had been beginning Payaza, VCs and PEs had been providing us cash. However we regarded on the prospects and determined this enterprise can work on a debt degree, ” he added.
Payaza, a funds options supplier, has raised about N40.37 billion throughout Collection 1 to 4 of its N50 billion business paper issuance. Moderator and TNP Accomplice, Bukola Bankole described the corporate as a “highly effective instance of what self-discipline and good debt utilisation can obtain.”
Ebenezer used the platform to underline his philosophy of management and progress. Enterprise success, he argued, depends extra on self-discipline than on sheer mind.
“Disciplined folks supervise good folks,” he mentioned, including that founders don’t want distinctive educational credentials to construct robust corporations, what they want is self-discipline that guides decision-making and steadies the enterprise.
He linked this on to the character of debt. Debt, he mentioned, enforces construction. “When individuals are in debt, they develop into disciplined,” he famous. With curiosity operating each day, together with weekends, founders are pressured to stay alert. “You don’t have any cause to not pay,” he mentioned.
The fixed strain, he argued, builds a tradition of accountability, funds have to be met, timelines revered, and monetary planning enforced. Because of this, Ebenezer concluded that entrepreneurs searching for sustainable progress might discover that working inside a disciplined, debt-driven construction supplies the readability and monetary accountability their companies want.
