SEC Clears Seven New Fintech Firms For ARIP

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ABUJA – The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has cleared seven new fintech and digital as­set firms for admission into its Accelerated Regulatory Incuba­tion Programme (ARIP), grant­ing them Approval-in-Principle (AIP) to operate within the pro­gramme’s regulatory sandbox as part of efforts to promote innova­tion while protecting investors.

The Commission, in a public notice issued on Thursday, said the move reinforces its commit­ment to fostering responsible in­novation that deepens Nigeria’s capital market without compro­mising market integrity.

The seven firms set for ad­mission into the programme are Bitbarter Technologies Limited, Luno Fintech Nigeria Limited, GetEquity Limited, Koinkoin Global Network Limited, Wrapped CBDC Ltd, Trovotech Ltd and Blockvault Custodian Ltd.

According to the SEC, the Approval-in-Principle permits the firms to operate within the defined scope of the programme, subject to conditions stipulated by the Commission.

It clarified that the approval is not a final operating licence but confirms that each entity has satisfied the admission require­ments for ARIP.

“An Approval-in-Principle confirms that an entity has sat­isfied the Commission’s admis­sion requirements for the Pro­gramme. It is not a final licence and remains conditional on the entity’s continued compliance with all applicable regulatory, operational, and supervisory obligations,” the Commission stated.

The ARIP is a controlled reg­ulatory environment established by the SEC to accelerate the on­boarding of digital asset and oth­er investment service providers, including Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) and tokenised product platforms.