As the level of unemployment in Nigeria grows at an alarming rate, Nigerian youths, more than previous times, are starting to explore multiple alternative paths to wealth creation. The quest to find sustainable means of earning good income without relying on the government or a formal job has earned forex trading and cryptocurrencies the widespread attention that they receive in Nigeria, especially among youths in the country. Forex trading and cryptocurrencies are two wealth-creation paths that have caught the attention of most Nigerian youths.
A 2020 report by Dailyfx, a forex research firm, stated that forex traders in Nigeria, on average, trade as much as $1.25 million daily. This illustrates the magnitude of forex trading in Nigeria. Most of these forex traders turn to forex as a means to clip the wings of poverty considering the relative scarcity of good jobs in the country.
Forex trading interests many Nigerian youths because of the many benefits it brings. With just a mobile phone, virtually anyone can venture into forex trading. Forex trading allows Nigerians to earn decent income just from trading various kinds of currencies. This system of income generation is successfully lifting many Nigerians out of poverty. “As a forex trader, you are in control of your finances. It is also an avenue to earn extra income. With a ‘small’ amount invested, a trader can earn some good income while trading,” says Ayodeji, a market analyst and forex trader.
The low barriers to entry for forex trading, in terms of capital and other required resources, make it easy for low and middle income Nigerian youths to become forex traders and exponentially increase their wealth in a legitimate and sustainable way, using the right strategies.
Acquiring the right strategies and sufficient knowledge to lucratively trade in the forex market has been made easier through the numerous forex training academies that have been created by experienced Nigerian forex traders. During the last quarter of 2020, Activecode Business Hub, a forex trading and ICT company based in Calabar, organized a financial empowerment programme that was intended to train thousands of Nigerians in forex trading, to address unemployment and cushion the effects of Covid-19. Initiatives like this, in addition to equipping Nigerians to become proficient forex traders, also signal the success of forex trading as means of wealth creation.
Similar to forex trading, cryptocurrencies have also opened up a sustainable way for Nigerians to achieve financial freedom and stability. A 2020 online survey by Statistsa found that almost a third of Nigerians who participated in the survey used or owned cryptocurrencies. This was the highest proportion of cryptocurrency users for any country among the 74 countries that took part in the survey. The reason for the high cryptocurrency usage in Nigeria is due to the financial profitability that comes with using cryptocurrencies.
Trading cryptocurrencies has become a decent means of income generation, by exploiting short-term opportunities in cryptocurrencies. This has gradually lifted many Nigerians into financial prosperity. According to Paxful, the largest P2P trade platform in Africa, the volume of bitcoin trade by Nigerians, between May 2015 and November 2020, was the second highest on the platform, with a total transaction volume of $566,668,692. Nena Nwachukwu, the company’s regional manager for Nigeria, stated that Nigerians mostly used the platform for peer-to-peer trading and arbitrage trading.
However, trading cryptocurrencies is not the only way Nigerians generate income with cryptocurrencies. Buying and holding cryptocurrencies has also helped Nigerians make more money with cryptocurrencies. While the naira has experienced a drastic drop in its value over the past few years, the value of a bitcoin has increased by over 300% just within the past year. This evidently shows that holding crypto without trading them in the short-term is also a high-yield investment.
Amidst Nigeria’s increasing rate of unemployment and poverty level, forex trading and cryptocurrencies are forging a path that leads Nigeria, and its youths, to a realm of economic growth and financial stability.
