The moment a financial tool lets you invest in big-name companies like Apple or the S&P 500 with just a few dollars, that’s real progress. That’s precisely what Africa’s own Luno is bringing to the table, and it’s more meaningful than you might think.
Starting August, South Africans gained access to tokenized stocks and ETFs via Luno, allowing them to buy fractional shares of more than 60 global equities like Apple, Alphabet, NVIDIA, and the S&P 500 for as little as R20 (about $1.13) . These tokenized stocks aren’t just flashy PDFs; each one is backed 1:1 by a real share held securely in regulated custody through trusted partners like Kraken’s xStocks and Backed Finance. No forex headaches, no waiting for U.S. market hours, just immediate, user-friendly access, in your local currency.
In its first month, more than 10,000 South African users jumped in, drawn by the affordability and freedom of this new, accessible platform. Now, Nigeria is next. In September, Luno quietly rolled out the same feature to Nigerian users, letting them invest in the same tokenized equities for as little as ₦100 ($0.07), all backed by regulated processes and fully compliant with Nigeria’s new Investment and Securities Act (2025).
What’s happening here isn’t just fintech innovation; it’s creating real financial inclusion. Traditional barriers like capital controls, currency conversion costs, investment minimums, and confusing market hours are suddenly obsolete. If you live in Africa and have a smartphone and a few rand or naira, you can now own parts of the world’s biggest companies.
For me, this move is bold and overdue. For so long, savvy investors have had to navigate complex, expensive paths to hold global assets. That stack of excuses, limited access, high minimums, then-wall-of-regulation has just been knocked down. What Luno is doing is leveling the playing field.
However, access isn’t everything. We have to be clear-eyed. Tokenization is powered by blockchain and trusted partners, but that leans on the integrity of all parties involved. If one player fails, users could remain locked out of their holdings though Luno does allow self-custody, reducing some of that risk . We also need regulators to keep up, not by slowing innovation, but by protecting users in this fast-emerging space.
In the grand scheme, Luno’s move is a signal: African fintech isn’t playing catch-up, it’s leapfrogging. It’s not about rolling out digital banking; it’s about reimagining what’s possible for people who were never meant to access global financial tools. If by the end of the year, everyday Nigerians and South Africans can seamlessly invest in global indices alongside their peers in New York or London, then yes, this is more than inclusion.
