Nigeria has been one of the major economies in Africa, diverse with everything from financial, communications, stock exchange, legal, transport and natural resources in abundance. However, like many of its neighbours, Nigeria has been experiencing an increased inflation rate from November 2018, directly affecting the cost of food. As the valuer of Nigeria’s currency dips, it seems as if Nigeria’s citizens are starting to resort to trading alternatives such as binary options trading to make more of a profit.

Nigeria’s Economic Woes

As the country tackles an ongoing economic crisis, Nigeria’s policy makers are looking to take a tight monetary stance. Much of the crisis can be attributed partly to the spending for the upcoming election in the country, scheduled to be held sometime in February 2019. This coupled with the national budget disbursements has given rise to inflation in the country, which in turn has affected prices of bread, cereals, milk, cheese, yam and other food items.

Binary Options Trading in Nigeria 

A huge chunk of Nigeria’s citizens is employed in the oil and agricultural sector, which are the two major sectors of the country’s economy and earners of foreign exchange. However, due to the ongoing economic turmoil, many citizens have started exploring options to earn some passive income. Binary Options Trading has thus gained popularity in Nigeria over the last couple of years, alongside forex and cryptocurrency trading.

How to Choose A Binary Options Broker in Nigeria?

Binary Options, which has become a lucrative form of trading on a global level, has seen a surge of popularity in the trading sector of the company. However, Nigeria does not have any locally based binary options brokers and thus must rely on brokers based off-shore. Reliability is a huge factor for Nigeria’s citizens when trading with off-shore brokers. There are certain factors that may be used to make a better judgement in this case.

1. Regulation: Always choose a broker which is regulated by a major regulatory body. Examples include the FCA and CySEC.
2. Instruments Offered:  Take a look at the types of instruments offered.  Most Online brokers offer options such as call/put, along with boundary and touch/no touch options.
3. Currency Pairs and Spreads: This depends on the type of binary options trading you want to conduct. For example, European style binary options brokers, do not generally assign spreads to currency assets.

Considering IQ Option:

Since no binary options broker is based in Nigeria, citizens look to offshore alternatives and one reputed name that comes up is IQ Option.  Based in Cyprus, it is owned by IQ Option Europe Ltd and is licensed under Cysec.

IQ Option has a lot of advantages such as:

• Easy User Interface
• Up to 91% Pay-outs for correct predictions
• Demo Account Available

IQ Option offers trading in binary options, along with digital options, foreign exchange, CFDs and even cryptocurrencies, offering Nigerians a comprehensive platform for trading online.

IQ Option has also recently introduced AstroPay as a new payment gateway, extended to certain countries including Nigeria.  The AstroPay card is a virtual prepaid card, used to make deposits and withdrawals online. It is known for its instantaneity, confidentiality and security on a global level.

For more informations about IQ Option please visit https://www.iqoptionmag.com

In the last decade, several nations around the world have experienced widespread economic crisis including experiencing inflation. Greece, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, etc. have all been victims of economic mismanagement. Often citizens of such countries resorted to unorthodox or newer methods of trading in order to hedge against their falling national currencies.  In the recent days, South Africa has joined the list (as per a recent survey). Kantar TNS, on behalf of Luno had conducted a survey asking the major reason for investing in cryptocurrencies.

The Survey

Luno, a London based cryptocurrency platform has recently conducted a survey (November 2018), which has found that South African citizens in significant numbers have been holding cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Litecoin etc., instead of the national currency the Rand. Most of them have reportedly been using them as a hedge against the ongoing inflation in the country.

The survey, which was conducted in 10 countries had a sample size of 1000 people in each nation.  Out of the 1000 South Africans that took part in the survey, almost 69% of them are familiar with some cryptocurrency. Detailed breakdowns show that one third of them already own digital assets, while 53% are open to purchase them. The majority stated holding cryptocurrencies was a measure to hedge against the declining Rand.

Current South African Economic Scenario

Much of the economic crisis unfolding in South Africa can be attributed to the declining value of the Rand, which has experienced a 20 % decline against the Dollar in 2018. The reasons include political instability in the finance ministry of the country, financial mismanagement, and a loss of investor confidence.

As a result, a significant percentage of investors have started trading alternative instruments and have looked towards other investment options such as binary options, CFDs, Forex trading and cryptocurrencies. The survey has even found that an overwhelming majority of the participants welcome digital currencies as a viable payment option for online stores and even brick and mortar businesses.

Cryptocurrency Trading in South Africa

 Ever since the popularity of cryptocurrencies as an investment option became known to South Africans, an overwhelming number of citizens have flocked towards investing in forex, trading binary options and of course, cryptocurrencies. Even popular binary options platforms such as IQ Option have started offering Cryptocurrency trading in the form of CFDs.

Choosing a reliable Forex/Cryptocurrency Broker Online

Both the Forex and cryptocurrency market require a certain amount of skill and knowledge to be successful. Due to their rising popularity, there have been an abundance of trading platforms offering users the same trading options. However, as an online trader, he/she must be careful while working with an online broker. There are certain factors which you can use to choose the right forex/ cryptocurrency broker when trading in South Africa, they include:

• Recognized by a National or International level Financial regulatory body
• Number of Leverage Options Offered
• Safety and Security Measures
• Demo Accounts Offered
• Level of Customer Service

South African Traders will find a good overview at http://www.tradeforexinsa.co.za/

Conclusion:

As more and more countries are facing economic turmoil, citizens are turning towards cryptocurrencies as a viable solution. Many online trading platforms have started offering their own cryptocurrency trading options. This trend will continue so long as the South African Rand keeps declining and does not stabilize.

Robert Greene’s classic – The 48 Laws of Power – is a book I have come to rely as I serve important people in the world. My most important phrase, in that book, remains “never outshine the master”.

That understanding is very important especially when some of my Igbo brethren ask me to make a presentation on their behalf before their foreign clients. I did one in OTC few years ago. When moments like that come, my job was to make the master flow through me, and not me, even though I work to show brilliance and capabilities.

The man who might not have finished secondary school but has tons of money to hire anyone he wants MUST be the master in that boardroom. He must assume the command. He must be presented as the leader, even when he is not talking.

“Never outshine the master” does not mean that you cannot shine. The real deal is making sure you understand that you are a messenger. It takes wisdom to watch two elders in the village debate on things which you certainly know better than them, and yet hold your peace, until they invite you.

How do you disappear as you stand for that master so that you keep appearing? You must learn how not to outshine the master. That does not mean that you cannot pursue excellence. Without that the master will not even allow you near him! Yes, you must deliver so that at the end, he will say “I am good in building great teams”, and his partners will congratulate him for that.

Simply, you must manage the delivery and perception as you serve that master. In politics, business and most things, it is an important wisdom to have if you want to keep moving up!

LinkedIn Comment On Feed

The perfect example can be found in the Holy Book, John played the perfect game, without taking the shine off the Divine Master, even when he had the chance to play that ridiculous ‘smart game’ most humans usually get entangled in, whenever an inch is given to them.

I remember one presidential media chat that took place before the 2015 general elections in Nigeria, where the anchor did virtually everything possible to outshine the president she’s interviewing, it was beyond ridiculous anyway. But we see similar things in many places, even those sent to give material or financial support to some people, end up posturing as if they are the real benefactors; a good example of what it means to overplay one’s usefulness and relevance.

Earlier this morning, I was reflecting on the distinctions between humility and timidity, and why one must not be mistaken for the other. Humility will allow you to maintain a cool head, even when advising or representing those you think you are better off, you aren’t called for a popularity contest, so do not make any attempt to outshine the person who ordinarily should be the centre of attention. To do so may as well qualify as stealing by tricks, and that makes you a thief.

I did not see this before posting my piece on ecommerce earlier today where I recommended avoiding ecommerce venture in Africa (except South Africa) yet. Gloo, one of the “most successful”, and well known ecommerce companies in Nigeria is shutting down. Few days ago, it was DealDey that gave up.

Unless you have a double play in Africa, think again, as you venture right now in ecommerce. Companies like old Konga, DealDey, OLX, etc never had double play. When that happens, the gestation period to profitability via pure ecommerce operations becomes longer, triggering cashflow challenges which lead to failures. Those challenges emanate because we have severe logistics problems which must be fixed to unlock opportunities in the sector.

No one takes glory for the failure of these entities. It is painful to write on them. Here (LinkedIn), last week, a company wanted to hire my practice to come up with a strategy for an ecommerce venture it was plotting. I declined 3 times and the firm did not give up. Then, I stopped responding. There was no need of collecting the money, for no value, because I see no path to success yet in that sector, in Nigeria.

Simply, the problem is not your website: the paralysis is something you have no control unless you have $800 million to build a regional logistics system.