With the increased abuse of the right to privacy of consumers as well as illegal means applied by some digital money lenders in harassing their debtors, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) in its attempt at regulating the digital lending space, has in its framework made the registration of digital lending businesses/companies, a mandatory requirement for carrying out a digital lending business in Nigeria. WHAT TYPES OF BUSINESSES ARE REQUIRED TO BE REGISTERED UNDER THE FCCPC FRAMEWORK? The directive applies to companies offering digital lending services as well as consumer finance businesses. WHY IS REGISTRATION WITH THE FCCPC...

If you are making plans to set up a business in the United States, without necessarily living there, one of the important decisions you need to make is; which State in the US is best to register your company as a foreigner? The United States is made up of about 50 states, and that is a lot to choose from. However, as a foreigner, particularly an African who doesn’t live or work in the United States, you need to approach this question differently because the policies and regulations in most States with respect to issues such as taxes, immigration, setting...

There’s no doubt, that a lot of business owners in Nigeria are beginning to appreciate the need to have their businesses registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission. But just in case you are one of the few who are still skeptical about it, permit me to highlight what you are obviously missing out on; If you’re looking to apply for funds from the government or private investors, you must be a registered business or at least have intentions to get your business registered before you can be attended to. Do you want to avoid mingling your personal funds with that...

When we refer to business organizations, we mean entities established for the purpose of carrying out commercial activities with the aim of making a profit. If you are considering setting up a business in Nigeria either as a foreigner or a citizen, it is important that you are aware of the types of business organizations/entities we have in Nigeria. This information is crucial as there have recently been new types of entities added to what we had before as a result of the establishment of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020.   TYPES OF BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS/ENTITIES IN NIGERIA In...

Imagine you have plans to set up a business in Nigeria. You’ve been told there are different types or structures of businesses in Nigeria such as; Business name Limited Partnership Limited Liability Partnership Private Company Limited by shares Company Limited by Guarantee Public Company Unlimited Company Having considered the various types of entities, you opt to register a private company. You’ve been told your company is expected to have a certain number of shares, and you are confused. You have also heard about the shareholders agreement, and you have a lot of questions about shares and the agreement. Is this...

On Wednesday, November 23rd, 2022, the Central Bank of Nigeria released additional requirements for licensing of banks and other financial institutions. The updated guideline is meant to be read in addition to existing regulatory requirements with respect to Anti Money Laundering (AML), Combatting and Financing of Anti-Terrorism (CFA), and Countering Proliferation Financing (CPF). The reason behind the new guidelines is to; Guide promoters in complying with AML/CFT/CPF requirements in license applications for banks and other financial institutions. Ensure that proceeds of crimes are not used to establish financial institutions. Ensure that criminals do not own or control financial institutions in...

If you are a foreigner, and you wish to buy a property in Nigeria or you are an owner/promoter of a foreign-owned company and the company is looking to buy a property in Nigeria, this article is for you. WHAT THE LAW SAYS ABOUT OWNERSHIP OF LAND IN NIGERIA IN GENERAL The Land Use Act is the principal law governing land transactions in Nigeria. In summary, under the Act, all lands in every 36 States of the Federation (except land vested in the Federal Government or its agencies) are held in the custody of the Governor of the State, and...

IF YOU OWN A REGISTERED COMPANY IN NIGERIA, THIS ARTICLE IS FOR YOU Before we proceed with the steps for recovering your lost certificate, let us emphasize that the Corporate Affairs Commission is the regulatory agency responsible for registering/incorporating businesses in Nigeria. Have you lost your company/business name’s certificate of incorporation? Here’s what you can do to have it replaced instead of registering a new company; Apply for Certified True Copies (CTC) of the original registration documents. Certified true copies are simply duplicates of the original missing documents that are stamped by an officer who has custody of such documents as...

Imagine having your business or company registered only to be told that you need to carry out SCUML registration to set up a bank account for your business. Prior to this, you had proceeded to the bank in excitement to set up that business account you have always wanted to have. On getting to the bank, you were directed to one of the bankers who provided you with a list of requirements for setting up your business account. Confident that you had all the requirements, you received the list alongside the account opening form… you say to yourself “My business...