Bestselling author turned capital markets executive takes the helm at NASD Plc
Arese Ugwu built her name telling Nigerians how to master their money. Now she’s been handed the job of making sure an entire capital market does the same.
At NASD Plc’s 13th Annual General Meeting in Lagos, Ugwu was announced as the company’s new Managing Director, following an executive search conducted by PwC. The appointment is subject to ratification by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and she steps into the role after Chinwendu Ekeh’s tenure as Acting MD.
For many Nigerians, Ugwu is a familiar name long before “capital markets” enters the conversation. She is the bestselling author of The Smart Money Woman, a personal finance book that became a cultural phenomenon and was later adapted into a hit television series bearing the same name. That background; demystifying money for everyday Nigerians; now meets a very different, and far larger, financial stage.
The Market She Inherits
NASD, Nigeria’s alternative securities exchange, is in the middle of a striking paradox. Its market capitalisation more than doubled over the review period, rising 105.83% to N2.12 trillion. Trading volume exploded by 370.81% to 14.03 billion shares, while the NASD Securities Index climbed 18.02% to 3,543.74. Admitted securities also grew, from 44 to 46.
Yet none of that translated into stronger earnings. Revenue remained largely flat at N1.12 billion, and profit after tax actually declined by 36%, to N263.4 million.
That gap between soaring market activity and stagnant profitability is precisely the challenge Ugwu has been brought in to close.
Her Mandate
Speaking on her appointment, Ugwu was direct about where her attention would go first: attracting quality issuers, deepening liquidity, expanding distribution, and increasing investor participation.
“Nigeria has extraordinary businesses that need capital and investors searching for opportunities to create wealth. NASD has an opportunity to become one of the country’s most important platforms for connecting the two. Our market has grown significantly; our job now is to ensure that the economics of NASD grow with it,” Ugwu said.
Her comments echo a broader strategy NASD has been signaling for months. In the company’s 2025 Annual Report, outgoing Acting MD Chinwendu Ekeh noted that NASD was “building additional channels through which that enlarged market can be monetised,” while also targeting expansion into Commercial Paper and Digital Securities.
What Comes Next?
NASD is preparing a Rights Issue, which the company says will provide additional financial capacity to execute its next phase of growth; spanning market development, liquidity enhancement, and new product lines. The exchange has also positioned itself as a key vehicle for mobilising private capital into agriculture, energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, technology, real estate, and Nigeria’s creative economy.
The capital raise, and how the market responds to it, may become an early test of investor confidence in Ugwu’s leadership; and in NASD’s ability to convert its rapid market expansion into sustainable, long-term returns.
For a woman who made her name teaching individuals how to build wealth, the task now is scaled up considerably: helping an entire exchange turn momentum into money.
