Risevest has secured an official licence from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), closing a significant compliance gap that had clouded its operations.
The fintech, which lets users invest in U.S.-dollar assets such as U.S. stocks and global fixed-income portfolios, was granted a Fund and Portfolio Manager licence through its subsidiary, RV Fund Management Limited.
Eke Urum, Risevest’s co-founder, in a message to users, described the licence as the outcome of ‘rigorous review and engagement’ with regulators, and emphasised the importance of strong oversight in building investor confidence.
The development places Risevest alongside a growing number of fintech investment firms, such as Bamboo and Trove, that have obtained SEC licences in recent months, positioning them to capture part of Nigeria’s expanding retail investment market.
Under Nigeria’s capital market rules, the status allows it to operate fully within the regulated framework and offer investment products to the public with formal oversight.
The approval ends months of uncertainty following a public warning by the SEC in early 2025 that Risevest’s earlier entities were unlicensed and not authorised to offer capital-market services.
This is a move that raised questions about the platform’s legal footing. At the time, the company said customers’ funds were protected through trusteeship arrangements with licensed firms and regulatory partnerships.
Risevest has grown its offerings to include assets denominated in dollars and expanded regionally, including through the 2024 acquisition of Hisa, a Kenyan investment startup.
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