Part of our country guides. Start with where Alpha Capital works, then compare the guides for South Africa, India, Pakistan, UAE, New Zealand, Canada, and Australia.
Quick answer: Nigeria is not on Alpha Capital's list of countries with limitations, so traders in Nigeria can sign up. Lagos is on West Africa Time, GMT+1 all year. In winter the London open is 9:00am in Lagos and the New York cash open is 3:30pm.
TL;DR: If you are looking for the best prop firm in Nigeria for your trading, start with the basics. Alpha Capital is open to Nigerian traders. You buy a forex and CFD evaluation, trade a simulated account in US dollars on MetaTrader 5, cTrader, DXtrade or TradeLocker, and can request performance fees in USD once you qualify and follow the account's rules. The account is not a naira balance, and passing does not guarantee income.
Traders in Lagos and Abuja usually need three answers before they pay: is Nigeria accepted, what currency is the account in, and what time do London and New York open on a local clock. Nigeria is accepted. The account is in USD. And both main sessions fall inside the Lagos working day.
Note: Evaluations use simulated funds. Performance fees are performance-based. Outcomes are not guaranteed. Confirm the live plan price on alphacapitalgroup.uk before you buy.
Is Alpha Capital open to traders in Nigeria?
Yes. Alpha Capital is available in more than 150 countries and publishes a short list of countries it cannot serve. Nigeria is not on that list. The country availability guide sets out the global rules.
Sign up with your legal name, set Nigeria as your country of residence, and pay with a card or account in that same name. Alpha Capital does not accept payments made with a third-party card or account. Before a Qualified Analyst account is issued, the name on the payment is checked against your KYC profile.
The path for a new purchase:
- Choose Alpha One, Alpha Pro, Alpha Swing, Alpha Three or Alpha Direct. Alpha Direct is the Instant Funding path and skips the evaluation.
- Pick MetaTrader 5, cTrader, DXtrade or TradeLocker.
- On One, Pro, Swing or Three, hit the profit target inside the loss rules.
- Become a Qualified Analyst and request performance fees from the dashboard.
A "$100K account" is a $100K simulated account in USD. It is not ₦100,000 or a naira wallet. No real funds are used on any Alpha Capital account.
Which platforms and plans can you buy from Nigeria?
| Feature | How it works |
|---|---|
| Eligibility | Nigeria is not on the list of countries with limitations. KYC is required. The name on the payment must match your ID. |
| Platforms | MetaTrader 5, cTrader, DXtrade and TradeLocker. |
| Plans | Alpha One (1-step), Alpha Pro (2-step), Alpha Swing (2-step), Alpha Three (3-step) and Alpha Direct (no evaluation). |
| Performance split | 80% standard. Optional 90% add-on at purchase on Alpha One and on-demand Alpha Pro. Alpha Direct is 90% as standard. |
| Currency | Plans, simulated balances and performance fees are in US dollars. |
| Getting paid | Rise, Wise, bank transfer (wire, ACH or SWIFT), or cryptocurrency through Rise. Processed and paid within 2 business days. |
All Alpha Capital accounts are simulated accounts with simulated funds. Your payment is an evaluation fee. Performance fees are not guaranteed and depend on following the rules of your account.
The rules, drawdown and performance split are the same worldwide. The published platform exception is for United States residents, who do not get MetaTrader 5. That exception does not apply in Nigeria, so MT5 is one of the four platforms. Setup steps are in the MT5 guide.
Leverage depends on the plan. Alpha Pro offers up to 1:100 on FX, Alpha Three up to 1:50, and Alpha One, Alpha Swing and Alpha Direct up to 1:30. Leverage magnifies both gains and losses on the simulated account.
What time do London and New York open in Lagos?
Nigeria is on West Africa Time (WAT), GMT+1, and does not change its clocks. The United Kingdom and the United States do change theirs, so the local times move twice a year.
Winter times, which apply now, while the UK is on Greenwich Mean Time and the US is on standard time:
| Session | Lagos / Abuja (WAT) |
|---|---|
| London open, 8:00am UK | 9:00am |
| New York cash open, 9:30am US Eastern | 3:30pm |
| US equity cash close, 4:00pm US Eastern | 10:00pm |
Summer times, once the UK is on British Summer Time (from 28 March 2027) and the US is on daylight time (from 14 March 2027):
| Session | Lagos / Abuja (WAT) |
|---|---|
| London open, 8:00am UK | 8:00am |
| New York cash open, 9:30am US Eastern | 2:30pm |
| US equity cash close, 4:00pm US Eastern | 9:00pm |
Between 14 and 28 March 2027 the US has changed and the UK has not, so London opens at 9:00am and New York at 2:30pm in Lagos.
The 4:00pm row is the US stock-market close, so you can see the session in local time. It is not an Alpha Capital rule that closes your account at that time.
For a trader in Nigeria, the London open falls at the start of the working day and the London and New York overlap runs through the afternoon. You do not need an overnight shift to trade either session. Our guide to forex trading sessions explains each session and the overlaps.
Should a Nigerian trader buy One, Pro, Swing, Three or Direct?
- Alpha One if you want a single evaluation stage with one minimum trading day and a trailing drawdown. Weekend holds are allowed at every stage, and performance fees are on-demand.
- Alpha Pro if you want the standard two-step path, with leverage of up to 1:100 on FX. Weekend holds are allowed in both evaluation phases and not on the Qualified Analyst account.
- Alpha Swing if you hold trades for longer. Swing allows weekend holds at every stage, has a looser news rule, uses a 10% static drawdown and pays performance fees on-demand only. Read the Swing account guide before you pick it.
- Alpha Three if you prefer a three-step evaluation with smaller targets in phases two and three. Weekend holds are allowed at every stage.
- Alpha Direct, sold as Instant Funding, if you want to skip the evaluation and start on a simulated Qualified account. The split is 90% as standard, weekend holding is not allowed, and the Max Risk Rule applies from your first trade. See how Instant Funding works.
Our comparison of Alpha One, Alpha Pro, Alpha Swing and Alpha Three sets the rules side by side, and the loss rules are in Alpha Capital rules explained. The maximum simulated allocation is $400,000, shared across all five plans.
News windows matter if you trade around data releases. On Qualified Analyst accounts on Pro, One, Three and Direct, you cannot open or close a trade on the targeted instrument from 5 minutes before until 5 minutes after the release. On Swing, a trade opened within 2 minutes either side of a release must stay open for more than 2 minutes. The news trading rules list the targeted instruments.
What should you check when looking for the best prop firm in Nigeria?
Whichever firm you look at, check the same points before you pay: that Nigeria is accepted, which currency the account is in, which platforms you can use, how the loss rules work, and how and when performance fees are paid. This guide answers each of those for Alpha Capital.
New to the model? Start with what a prop firm is. For a story from a trader with Nigerian roots, read From Nigeria to 200K Followers: Sully's Trading Story. Traders elsewhere in Africa can compare our guide for South African traders.
How do Nigerian traders pay and get paid?
Plan prices are in US dollars. If you pay with a card linked to a naira account, your bank handles the conversion at its own rate, so build that into the cost. The payment must be in your own name.
Qualified Analysts can receive 80% of the profits generated on their simulated account as a performance fee, as long as they follow the account's rules. Optional 90% add-on at purchase on Alpha One and on-demand Alpha Pro. Alpha Direct is 90% as standard.
You request performance fees from the dashboard, and requests are processed and paid within 2 business days. Performance fees are paid through Rise, Wise, bank transfer (wire, ACH or SWIFT), or cryptocurrency through Rise, one of Alpha Capital's authorised third-party payment providers. Keep the receiving name the same as your KYC name.
A performance fee is a share of eligible simulated profit, not a salary. The common reasons for a delayed request are in why performance fee requests get delayed.
Can you hold a forex trade over the weekend from Nigeria?
On some plans, yes. Alpha One, Alpha Swing and Alpha Three allow weekend holds at every stage. Alpha Pro allows them during the evaluation and not on the Qualified Analyst account. Alpha Direct does not allow a weekend hold. Holding over the weekend incurs swap fees. Check the weekend holding rules for the plan you buy.
Frequently asked questions
Can traders in Nigeria use Alpha Capital?
Yes. Nigeria is not on Alpha Capital's list of countries with limitations. Set Nigeria as your country of residence at signup and complete KYC in your own name.
Is the account in naira?
No. Plans, simulated balances and performance fees are in US dollars. If you pay with a naira card, your bank converts the payment.
Can I use MT5 from Lagos?
Yes. MetaTrader 5 is one of the four platforms, with cTrader, DXtrade and TradeLocker. The MT5 restriction applies only to United States residents.
What time is the London open in Lagos?
In winter, while the UK is on Greenwich Mean Time, the London open is 9:00am in Lagos. From 28 March 2027, when the UK moves to British Summer Time, it is 8:00am. Nigeria stays on GMT+1 all year.
How are performance fees paid to Nigerian traders?
Through Rise, Wise, bank transfer (wire, ACH or SWIFT), or cryptocurrency through Rise. Requests are processed and paid within 2 business days, and the receiving name must match your KYC name.
Is an Alpha Capital account real money?
No. All Alpha Capital accounts are simulated accounts with simulated funds. Qualified Analysts can earn performance fees based on their trading in the simulated environment, and performance fees are not guaranteed.
Related reading
- Country availability
- Best forex prop firm for South African traders
- Alpha One vs Alpha Pro vs Alpha Swing vs Alpha Three
- Alpha Capital rules explained
- Forex trading sessions
- Sully's trading story
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Simulated evaluations, simulated funds. Performance fees are performance-based. Outcomes are not guaranteed.
