FM Capital Group

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FM Capital Group We are investment advisory firm posting our commentary on investing, markets and the psychology of we

Our founder, Lydia Idem, has been investing in equities for 25 years and trading currencies actively for 15 years. A long-time investor, Lydia has worked with, advised, and invested in startups for the past 20 years.

J.P. Morgan reportedly plans to launch a merchant bank in Nigeria before the end of 2026. It’s a deepening of a presence...
10/14/2026

J.P. Morgan reportedly plans to launch a merchant bank in Nigeria before the end of 2026. It’s a deepening of a presence in Lagos that dates to the 1980s, not a debut.
A merchant bank serves institutions, so the real signal is market access: FX liquidity, regulatory clarity, and dollar capital. The plan is still subject to CBN approval.

Swipe for the full picture.



This isn't advice — think for yourself and always do your own homework. Send us a DM if you're interested in investing in Africa.

Our MD, Idem, joined the Venture Capital panel at the 23rd Columbia Africa Conference — hosted at Columbia Business Sch...
10/12/2026

Our MD, Idem, joined the Venture Capital panel at the 23rd Columbia Africa Conference — hosted at Columbia Business School during UNGA week, under this year's theme: Africa Ahead –The Continent's Role in a New Global Order.
On the panel with her: Maurizio Caio, Founder & Managing Partner, TLCOM; Dr. Houda Ghozzi, Founder & CEO, Open Startup; and Olu Oyinsan, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Oui Capital.

The conference brought together more than 450 attendees across Columbia's business, international affairs, law, and public health schools, a room that has, in past years, hosted President Daniel Chapo of Mozambique, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of the WTO, Tony Elumelu, and Ralph Mupita of MTN Group. The panel itself took a close look at how early-stage capital is actually being built and deployed across the continent — not the theory of it, but the mechanics: sourcing, structuring, trust, and the discipline it takes to make African markets legible to global capital.

Grateful for the invitation, the room, and the reminder that some of the most important conversations are years in the making.

💰 Looking for funding for your business? Not sure which options are right for you?Loans, community lending, investment c...
10/08/2026

💰 Looking for funding for your business? Not sure which options are right for you?
Loans, community lending, investment capital, alternative financing—there's more than one way to fund a business!

Join us at BACC 17 for:
Capital That Fits: Finding the Right Funding for Your Business
Hear from leaders who work across different parts of the capital ecosystem:

🎤 Moderated by Will Jackson of U.S. Bank, featuring:
✨ Jai Bawa — ICA Fund
✨ Natalie del Toro — TMC Community Capital
✨ Lydia Idem — LoftyInc Capital Management
✨ Nykole Prevost — VP, Startup Banking | JP Morgan

Learn about different funding pathways, what funders look for, and how to better position your business for capital opportunities.
📅 October 15, 2026
⏰ 10:30 AM–4:00 PM
📍 BLOC15 | Oakland
🎟️ Tickets start at $30!

Register: bit.ly/BACC2026

Alliance for Community Development

This Thursday, our MD, Lydia Idem Finkley, moderates a fireside chat at SF Tech Week: The Rise of the One-Person Company...
10/06/2026

This Thursday, our MD, Lydia Idem Finkley, moderates a fireside chat at SF Tech Week: The Rise of the One-Person Company in the AI Era.

She'll be guiding the conversation with Allen Smith, Managing Partner at Musa Capital, at ArtTech Playground, on a question investors are increasingly asking: when one founder plus AI can do the work of a team, how do you evaluate them, and where does capital still matter? The discussion runs from building and scaling with AI as your team to the physical world of robots, devices, and in-person experiences, where costs rise and investors come in.

See flyer for details.

Aliko Dangote says Dangote Fertilizer will list in 2028. In his words to Bloomberg: "We will IPO it... Yes, it will be 2...
10/06/2026

Aliko Dangote says Dangote Fertilizer will list in 2028. In his words to Bloomberg: "We will IPO it... Yes, it will be 2028."

Worth noting: In January, Dangote Industries appointed MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita to the Dangote Fertilizer board. Mupita led MTN Nigeria's 2019 listing on the NGX. Its revenues have more than quadrupled since, and it is now one of the exchange's most valuable stocks. Before MTN, he held senior roles at Old Mutual, and he trained as an engineer.

Dangote Fertilizer as is today, is a $2.5B plant producing about 3 million tonnes of urea a year, with a target of about 12 million by 2028. This is a signal worth watching.



This isn't advice — think for yourself and always do your own homework. Send us a DM if you're interested in investing in stocks in the global markets.

Meta's Muse AI surge triggered our $751 call and a $609 reversal forecast. 24 hours later, the pullback is already confi...
10/05/2026

Meta's Muse AI surge triggered our $751 call and a $609 reversal forecast. 24 hours later, the pullback is already confirming. Calling the move is the easy part. Knowing how to position a portfolio around it — that's what we do for clients, every day.

This reflects a specific strategy call and its outcome. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

We publish Stocks & Forex analysis in full our MEDIUM page:



This isn't advice — think for yourself and always do your own homework. Send us a DM if you're interested in investing in stocks.

Tonight, in Oakland — the conversation on capital access.Our MD, Lydia Idem joins the panel for Town Business: Big Capit...
10/01/2026

Tonight, in Oakland — the conversation on capital access.

Our MD, Lydia Idem joins the panel for Town Business: Big Capital — Learn What It Takes to Attract Investment, Access Capital, and Grow Your Business, alongside fellow investors and founders from the Oakland community.

The discussion will dig into what it actually takes to become capital-ready; what makes a business stand out to investors, how founders balance raising capital with keeping control, and practical steps entrepreneurs can take to close the access gap, particularly for women, people of color, and founders from underserved communities.

Independence is not freedom for freedom's sake. It's not political freedom alone, it's religious freedom, cultural freed...
10/01/2026

Independence is not freedom for freedom's sake. It's not political freedom alone, it's religious freedom, cultural freedom, and, most urgently, economic freedom.

This season, we believe Nigeria, and by extension, Africa, should seize the moment to contemplate a roadmap for economic freedom: one where her industries, infrastructure, and institutions exist to protect and preserve wealth for the nation with the most Black people on earth.

We're already seeing the early signs: uranium permits returning to local hands in Niger, a refinery built to keep Nigeria's fuel value at home, new crude grades loading for export instead of sitting idle. We need more of this mentality and this movement.

Happy Independence Day.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud says Somalia has confirmed uranium, lithium, and cobalt deposits. It was announced at th...
09/30/2026

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud says Somalia has confirmed uranium, lithium, and cobalt deposits. It was announced at the Somalia Development Finance Forum in Mogadishu a few days ago.

What's missing is: reserve estimates, locations, and commercial viability. This is a statement of intent, not yet a geological fact sheet. Worth watching.

Source: Bloomberg



This isn't advice — think for yourself and always do your own homework. Send us a DM if you're interested in investing in stocks.

09/28/2026

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, WTO Director-General, speaking candidly at an UNGA 81 forum about the bureaucratic hurdles standing between patient capital and the markets that need it most: the licenses, the approvals, the quiet gatekeeping that investors rarely say out loud.

The instrument she references, the WTO's Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement, backed by over 125 countries, has been blocked from formal adoption more than a dozen times by a single member's objection. The fix, she notes, isn't only at the WTO. It's back home, in the legislation each country still has to pass.



This isn't advice — think for yourself and always do your own homework. Send us a DM if you're interested in investing in Africa.

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Oakland, CA
94612

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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