Interviewed by Syed Md. Rakeen, Team MBR

Nofel Wahid is the founder and CEO of Jomma, a digital investment marketplace for stocks, bonds and mutual funds. Prior to founding Jomma, Nofel worked 6+ years at bKash and launched bKash’s digital savings (with IDLC), loan (with City Bank) and insurance (with Guardian Life Insurance) businesses. He started his career at the Australian Treasury (Ministry of Finance) and worked on Australia’s policy response to the Global Financial Crisis, followed by policy research work on Asian financial markets integration as a senior policy analyst at the Australian APEC Study Center at RMIT University. Team MBR was in conversation with Mr. Nofel Wahid to learn about Jomma and his aspirations for a digital investment marketplace.

Syed Md. Rakeen: You possess a wealth of experience in the financial services industry, encompassing roles such as Financial Markets Analyst at Commonwealth Treasury and Vice President at bKash. Would you kindly share what inspired you to leave a successful corporate career and form Jomma?

Nofel Wahid: Prior to moving back to Bangladesh in 2015 to work at bKash, I lived and worked in Australia for many years. When I was an undergraduate student, I used to work at a clothing store as a contractual employee who got paid a minimum wage of AUD 15/per hour. Australia’s pension policy requires everyone, even someone working on a minimum wage, to contribute about 10% of their monthly salary to a privately managed pension fund that would invest the pension contributions until retirement.

In Bangladesh, we do not have a private pension industry yet. The government recently launched its Universal Pension Scheme, which is an important social safety net initiative. However, for all Bangladeshis to save sufficiently over their working lives and retire with dignity, we need to develop a private pensions industry that will take in and manage consumer funds efficiently and with integrity to maximise returns for consumers and enhance their financial well-being.

My lived experience of how a private pension system should and can work well motivated me to start Jomma to make investing easier and more accessible for Bangladeshis to save for their future.

Syed Md. Rakeen: Jomma is a digital investment marketplace for stocks, mutual funds, and bonds aimed at making financial investments and their monitoring convenient for investors. How is Jomma ensuring broad access to financial investments through its services?

Nofel Wahid: As a digital investment marketplace, Jomma’s focus is to empower investors by providing easier access to financial products as well as greater product choice from multiple financial institutions. Through Jomma’s digital marketplace, investors can open a BO account with a licenced broker, fund their BO account through online payments to the broker, and invest in listed stocks, bonds, and open- ended mutual funds.

As your readers are likely aware, investments in listed stocks and bonds are executed through licenced brokers, and open-ended mutual funds are managed by licenced asset management companies (AMCs). Jomma is a first-of-its-kind marketplace that provides access to and choice over seven open-ended mutual funds from two different AMCs and listed stocks and bonds through a licenced broker.

Syed Md. Rakeen: Jomma allows investors to open Beneficiary Owner (BO) accounts online in the comfort of their houses. Would you kindly share how opening BO accounts through Jomma differs from opening at other financial institutions?

Nofel Wahid: The process for opening a BO account with a licenced broker is regulated and standardised across the industry. Jomma users open a BO account with a licenced broker in much the same way as any other investor would at another financial institution. However, once the BO account has been opened, enabling investors to fund the BO account through online payments and investing in listed stocks and bonds as well as open-ended mutual funds from one platform is how Jomma adds value as a one-stop investment marketplace.

Syed Md. Rakeen: Investors can track real-time daily market information through Jomma’s website, facilitating investors to track their portfolio of investments with relative ease. Which market information is accessible through Jomma to ensure that its users are well-informed regarding their portfolio as well as financial markets?

Nofel Wahid: Investors can access market information such as stock prices, mutual fund NAV and receive personalised updates on their investment portfolio performance from their brokers and mutual funds through Jomma. It helps investors not only monitor market trends but also make informed investment decisions about how to manage their portfolios.

Syed Md. Rakeen: Digital investment marketplaces are responsible for the proper distribution of funds, such as dividend payments, interest payments, and capital gains for their users. How is Jomma ensuring the proper withdrawal of funds from their platform without any hassles?

Nofel Wahid: Jomma, as a technology platform, provides the technology service of digitally distributing financial products/services of licenced financial institutions and generating user acquisition and transaction leads for those financial institutions. For example, if an investor wants to withdraw funds from their BO account, the investor can send a withdrawal request to the broker from Jomma’s platform. The broker will subsequently provide the financial service of transferring funds to the investor’s bank account as per regulations. Jomma’s role is to connect investors and financial institutions and empower both parties to transact more efficiently and cost- effectively through the use of technology.

Syed Md. Rakeen: Security concerns in recent times have raised concerns regarding the digital protection of customers’ personal and financial information online. How does Jomma ensure the confidentiality of their customers’ information?

Nofel Wahid: Confidentiality of customer information is very important. We have adopted industry best practices and standards to ensure the confidentiality of customer information. Financial institutions have to follow specific regulations that require them to KYC their customers. As an investment marketplace that digitally connects investors with financial institutions, investors have full line of sight on what information is required by financial institutions to KYC them. Investors have to consent to share their information with the financial institution to complete the institution’s KYC and user onboarding journey.

Syed Md. Rakeen: Online trading of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds is highly used in countries abroad, with diverse options available for convenient trading. Is Jomma planning to introduce new services on its platform to attract more investors?

Nofel Wahid: We are constantly guided and supported by our partner financial institutions on what financial regulations envision and enable our partners to do in terms of financial product design and service delivery. Jomma will work closely with our partner financial institutions to enable them to offer new financial services that are relevant and impactful, as well as being guided by policy and regulatory directives.

Syed Md. Rakeen: A negative perception exists among people regarding the trading of digital financial assets, with the MTFE scandal further discouraging users from engaging in investing activities. Would you kindly share how Jomma is planning to tackle challenges surrounding trust in the digital investment market space and enlarge its user base while maintaining integrity?

Nofel Wahid: Jomma has partnered with licenced, well-reputed brokers, mutual funds, and merchant banks regulated by BSEC, which is an important marker of trust. More importantly, the lack of trust investors feel often stems from a lack of information and know-how about investing.

You would be surprised by how many people are not aware that in order to invest as an individual, you need to open a BO account with a licenced broker, fund that BO account through a payment to the broker to invest in listed stocks and bonds, or pay the mutual fund to buy mutual fund units. Jomma extensively communicates and educates investors about the processes and actions they need to follow to invest securely and with ease. Communication and financial education on investment can help build trust, and trust is essential for growth.

Syed Md. Rakeen: Jomma boasts enormous potential in this sector, which is further evident by the combined massive investment of BDT 2 crores from SBK Tech Ventures and Robi. How do you envision the future of Jomma in the next 5–10 years?

Nofel Wahid: Jomma’s goal is to make investment easier and more accessible for all Bangladeshis. Achieving that goal entails creating value for consumers by effectively communicating with them about how investing can help them achieve their financial goals, making the process of investing simpler and more cost-effective through the use of technology and informing investors about the choice available to them in terms of different financial products offered by various financial institutions and the benefits or even the risks associated with those products. We envision Jomma to be the preferred digital investment marketplace for all Bangladeshis in the next 5–10 years.