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Ajo / esusu: A rotating savings group: members pay in regularly and take turns collecting the full pot. Also called esusu, adashe or 'contribution'.
All-Share Index: An index of every share on an exchange, weighted by market cap. NGX's is the NGX All-Share Index (ASI); the game's is the XASI.
Allotment: The number of shares you actually receive from an offer after applications are counted. If the offer is oversubscribed, you get fewer than you asked for and a refund.
Ask (offer): The lowest price a seller is willing to accept right now. Buy at the ask and you trade straight away.
Audited accounts: Financial statements checked by an independent auditor. Needed to raise serious money or list on an exchange.
Bear market: A long, broad fall in share prices with a gloomy mood. Bears swipe down.
Bid: The highest price a buyer is willing to pay right now. Sell at the bid and you trade straight away.
Board lot: The standard bundle size a market trades shares in. Some markets require multiples; in the game you can trade from a single unit.
Bonus issue: Free extra shares given to existing shareholders, e.g. 1 for every 10 held. The price adjusts down, so total value stays about the same.
Book-building: A way to price an IPO: institutions bid inside a price range and the final price is set from their demand.
Broker: A licensed firm that places your buy and sell orders on the exchange. In the game, Xodos is your broker.
Bull market: A period when share prices rise broadly and investors feel confident. Bulls charge up.
Buyback: When a company uses its own cash to buy its shares from the market, leaving fewer shares in circulation.
CAC: The Corporate Affairs Commission, which registers companies and business names in Nigeria.
Call auction: A short period where orders are collected without matching, then one price is set that trades the most shares. Used at the open and the close.
Capital gain: Profit from selling something for more than you paid. Buy at ₦40, sell at ₦50: ₦10 gain per share before fees. Since 2026 Nigeria taxes it at personal rates, with exemptions most retail investors fall under; the game doesn't charge it.
CHN (Clearing House Number): Your unique investor number at CSCS, linking every share you own to you. Game CHNs start with SIM-.
Clawback: Moving unused shares from one part of an offer to another, e.g. from the retail tranche to institutions when retail demand is low.
Closure date: The date the registrar closes the register to confirm who gets a dividend or bonus. In the game it falls one business day after the qualification date.
Commission: The broker's fee for placing your trade. In the game Xodos charges a flat 1%, plus VAT on the commission.
Compounding: Earning returns on your past returns, so growth speeds up over time. ₦100,000 at 10% a year is ₦121,000 after two years.
Contract note: The receipt for a trade: quantity, price, each fee and the total.
Corporate governance: How a company is directed and checked: independent board, audit committee, honest disclosure, fair treatment of shareholders.
CSCS: Central Securities Clearing System: Nigeria's central depository. It holds shares electronically and settles trades.
Depository: An institution that holds shares electronically in investors' names, so there are no paper certificates to lose.
Dilution: When new shares are issued and existing owners' percentage stake shrinks.
Diversification: Spreading money across different companies and sectors so one bad bet can't sink you.
Dividend: A cash payment from a company's profit to shareholders, per share held.
Dividend yield: Yearly dividend ÷ share price. ₦2 on a ₦40 share is 5%.
Emergency fund: Cash set aside for surprises, ideally 3 to 6 months of living costs, kept separate from investments.
EPS (earnings per share): A company's profit divided by its number of shares. ₦3bn profit and 1bn shares gives EPS of ₦3.
Ex-dividend: When a share starts trading without the right to the latest dividend. The price usually drops by about the dividend.
Exchange rate: How many naira it takes to buy one dollar, pound or other currency. A weaker naira makes imports dearer.
Free float: The share of a company that ordinary investors can trade. NGX Main Board needs at least 20%.
Fundamentals: The real numbers behind a company: revenue, profit, debt, cash and growth. In the game they drive fair value.
Growth Board: NGX's board for younger, fast-growing companies, with lighter entry rules. The entry segment needs 10% free float.
GTC (good-till-cancelled): An order that stays open across days until it fills or you cancel it. In the game, GTC orders expire after 30 game days.
Index: A number that tracks a basket of stocks, showing how a market or sector is doing overall.
Inflation: The general rise in prices over time, which shrinks what each naira can buy.
Institutional investor: A big organisation that invests on behalf of others: pension fund administrators, asset managers, insurers.
IPO (Initial Public Offer): When a company sells shares to the public for the first time and then lists on an exchange.
Issuing house: The investment bank that structures an offer, prepares the prospectus with the company and markets it to investors.
KYC (Know Your Customer): Identity checks a broker does before opening your account. The game never asks for real ID.
Limit order: An order with a price cap (buy) or floor (sell). It only fills at your price or better.
Liquidity: How easily you can buy or sell without moving the price much.
Listing: Admission of a company's shares to trade on an exchange, after meeting a board's rules.
Lock-up: A period after listing when founders and early investors agree not to sell their shares.
Main Board: NGX's board for established companies. One standard: 3 years operating, ₦300m pre-tax profit over 3 years, 20% free float, governance score of 70%+.
Market cap: Share price × total shares: what the market values the whole company at.
Market maker: A trader who keeps quoting both a buy and a sell price, so others can always trade. In the game, bots do this job.
Market order: An order to trade now at the best available price. In the game, any unfilled part is cancelled.
MPR (Monetary Policy Rate): The Central Bank of Nigeria's benchmark interest rate, which steers lending and savings rates.
NGX: Nigerian Exchange Limited, where Nigerian shares are listed and traded. Hours since 27 April 2026: 09:00–16:00 WAT.
Offer price: The price per share investors pay in an IPO or other offer.
Order book: The live list of waiting buy and sell orders for a stock, sorted by price, then time.
P/E ratio: Share price ÷ earnings per share. How many naira you pay for ₦1 of yearly profit.
Partial fill: When only part of your order trades because there weren't enough matching orders.
PenCom / PFA: PenCom regulates pensions in Nigeria; Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) invest workers' pension savings, including in shares.
Ponzi scheme: A scam that pays old members with new members' money and collapses when new money dries up.
Premium Board: NGX's top board for the largest, best-governed companies, with stricter disclosure and governance standards.
Price band: The daily limit on price moves. On NGX a share can trade only within ±10% of the previous close.
Pro-rata: In proportion. In an oversubscribed offer, everyone gets the same fraction of what they applied for.
Prospectus: The official offer document: the business, audited numbers, risks, price and timetable.
Qualification date: The date you must hold shares by to qualify for a dividend, bonus or rights. In the game, hold at the end of that day.
Receiving bank: A bank appointed to collect IPO application money and hold it until allotment.
Registrar: The firm that keeps a company's shareholder register, pays dividends and handles allotments.
Reporting accountant: Independent accountants who review the financial numbers used in a prospectus.
Rights issue: An offer of new shares to existing shareholders, usually at a discount, in proportion to what they hold.
SEC Nigeria: The Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigeria's capital market regulator. Check firms on its register at sec.gov.ng.
Settlement: The moment shares and money actually change hands after a trade. NGX settles at T+1.
Share split: Dividing each share into more shares at a lower price. Your total value doesn't change.
Spread: The gap between the best ask and the best bid.
Stamp duty: A small government levy on each trade. In the game it is 0.075% of the trade value.
T+1: Settlement one business day after the trade date. NGX moved to T+1 on 1 June 2026.
Takeover: When one company buys another, usually paying shareholders a premium. The target is then delisted.
Tick size: The smallest step a price can move. On NGX: 10 kobo at ₦1,000+, 5 kobo at ₦500–₦999.99, 1 kobo below ₦500.
Underwriter: A firm that promises to buy any shares in an offer that investors don't take, so the issuer is sure to raise the money.
Volatility: How much and how fast a price swings up and down.
VWAP: Volume-weighted average price: the average trade price, giving bigger trades more weight. The game uses the session VWAP as the close when enough shares trade.
Withholding tax (WHT): Tax deducted before income reaches you. Nigeria withholds 10% of dividends at source.