One of the distinguishing attributes of a company from other types of business entities we have in Nigeria is that every company must have a share capital. However, the number of shares to be attributed to a company, especially during registration, depends largely on various factors one of which is the nature of the business activities of the company or industry the company will operate in.
In this article, we will be examining a list of minimum share capital requirements for registering a company in certain sectors in Nigeria.
WHAT IS A SHARE CAPITAL?
A share capital of a company is simply money put together by its shareholders towards the company. As part of the requirement, every company must state the amount of money put together by its shareholders as capital during registration.
WHAT IS THE OVERALL MINIMUM SHARE CAPITAL REQUIREMENT FOR REGISTERING A PRIVATE COMPANY IN NIGERIA?
The minimum share capital requirement for private companies limited by shares in Nigeria is N100,000 (one hundred thousand naira). By virtue of Section 22 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020, A company is said to be a private company when it has a minimum of 2 (two) members and must not exceed 50 (fifty) members.
WHAT IS THE OVERALL MINIMUM SHARE CAPITAL REQUIREMENT FOR REGISTERING A PUBLIC COMPANY IN NIGERIA?
The minimum share capital requirement for a public company in Nigeria is N2,000,000 (two million naira). A company is said to be a public company when it has no limit to membership.
WHAT IS THE OVERALL MINIMUM SHARE CAPITAL REQUIREMENT FOR REGISTERING A FOREIGN-OWNED COMPANY IN NIGERIA?
The minimum share capital requirement for registering a foreign-owned company in Nigeria is N100,000,000 (one hundred million naira) as provided by the revised handbook on expatriate quota administration.
LIST OF MINIMUM SHARE CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS FOR DESIGNATED INDUSTRIES
As promised, we’ll look at the various share capital requirement for companies looking to carry out business activities in various sectors as provided by relevant industry regulators.
| SN | INDUSTRY SECTOR | MINIMUM SHARE CAPITAL (in Naira) |
| 1 | AGRICULTURAL SEEDS, PRODUCTIONS, PROCESSING, MARKETING | 10 Billion |
| 2 | AIR TRANSPORT (INTERNATIONAL) | 2 Billion |
| 3 | AIR TRANSPORT (REGIONAL) | 1 Billion |
| 4 | AIR TRANSPORT (LOCAL) | 500 Million |
| 5 | AIR AMBULANCE/ FUMIGATION/PRIVATE JET | 20 Million |
| 6 | AVIATION (GROUND HANDLING SERVICES) | 500 Million |
| 7 | AVIATION (AIR TRANSPORT TRAINING INSTITUTIONS) | 2 Million |
| 8 | AGENTS OF FOREIGN AIRLINES | 1 Million |
| 9 | TRAVEL/TOURS | 30 Million |
| 10 | ASSET MANAGEMENT (INTANGIBLE ASSETS) | 300 Million |
| 11 | BUREAU DE CHANGE | 35 Million |
| 12 | BROKER/DEALER | 300 Million |
| 13 | COMMERCIAL BANK WITH REGIONAL AUTHORIZATION | 10 Billion |
| 14 | COMMERCIAL BANK WITH NATIONAL AUTHORIZATION | 25 Billion |
| 15 | COMMERCIAL BANK WITH INTERNATIONAL AUTHORIZATION | 50 Billion |
| 16 | CORPORATE/ SUB-BROKER | 5 Million |
| 17 | CAPITAL TRADE POINT | 20 Million |
| 18 | COMMODITIES BROKER | 40 Million |
| 19 | CONSULTANT (CORPORATE) | 5 Million |
| 20 | CONSULTANT (INDIVIDUAL) | 500,000 |
| 21 | CONSULTANT PARTNERSHIP | 2 Million |
| 22 | CORPORATE INVESTMENT ADVISER (REGISTRAR) | 150 Million |
| 23 | CORPORATE INVESTMENT ADVISER | 5 Million |
| 24 | COMPOSITE INSURANCE | 18 Billion |
| 25 | CLOSED PENSION FUND | 500 Million |
| 26 | CABOTAGE TRADE | 25 Million |
| 27 | FREIGHT FORWARDING | 5 Million |
| 28 | FINANCE COMPANY | 20 Million |
| GENERAL INSURANCE | 10 Billion | |
| 29 | GENERAL MICRO-INSURANCE | 200 Million |
| 30 | HEALTH MAINTENANCE ORGANISATION (HMO)(NATIONAL) | 400 Million (Paid up) |
| 31 | HEALTH MAINTENANCE ORGANISATION (HMO) (REGIONAL) | 200 Million (Paid up) |
| 32 | HEALTH MAINTENANCE ORGANISATION (HMO) (STATE) | 100 Million (Paid up) |
| 33 | ISSUING HOUSE | 200 Million |
| 34 | INDIVIDUAL INVESTMENT ADVISER | 2 Million |
| 35 | INSURANCE BROKER | 5 Million |
| 36 | LIFE INSURANCE | 8 Billion |
| 37 | LOTTERY | 5 Million |
| 38 | LIFE MICRO-INSURANCE | 150 Million |
| 39 | MARKET MAKER (Securities) | 2 Billion |
| 40 | MERCHANT BANK | 15 Billion |
| 41 | MOBILE MONEY OPERATION (E-Money Issuing, Wallet Creation and Management, Pool Account Management activities as permissible under Super Agent) | 2 Billion |
| 42 | MICRO FINANCE BANK (STATE & FCT) | 1 Billion |
| 43 | MICRO FINANCE BANK (NATIONAL) | 5 Billion |
| 44 | NON-INTEREST BANK (REGIONAL) | 5 Billion |
| 45 | NON-INTEREST BANK (NATIONAL) | 10 Billion |
| 46 | NATIONAL MICROINSURER | 100 Million |
| 47 | PAYMENT SERVICE BANK | 5 Billion |
| 48 | PENSION FUND/ ASSET CUSTODIAN | 2 Billion |
| 49 | PENSION FUND ADMINISTRATOR | 5 Billion |
| 50 | PRIVATE SECURITY COMPANY/ CONSULTANT | 10 Million |
| 51 | PENSION FUND/ ASSET CUSTODIAN | 2 Billion |
| 52 | PAYMENT TERMINAL SERVICE PROVIDER (PTSP)(POS Terminal Deployment and Services, POS Terminal Ownership, PTAD, Merchant/ Agent Training and Support) | 100 Million |
| 53 | PAYMENT SOLUTION SERVICES (PSS) (As permissible under Super Agent, PTS and PSSP (combined) | 250 Million |
| 54 | PAYMENT SOLUTIONS SERVICE PROVIDER (PSSP) (Payment Processing Gateway and Portal, Payment Solution/ Application Development, Merchant Service Aggregation and Collection) | 100 Million |
| 55 | PRIMARY MORTGAGE INSTITUTION | 2 Billion |
| 56 | PAYMENT SERVICE BANK | 5 Billion |
| 57 | RATING AGENCY (Capital Market) | 150 Million |
| 58 | RE-INSURANCE | 20 Billion |
| 59 | SHIPPING COMPANY/AGENT | 25 Million |
| 60 | SPORTS LOTTERY | 30 Million |
| 61 | STATE MICROINSURER | 100 Million |
| 62 | SWITCHING AND PROCESSING (Switching, Card Processing Transaction, Clearing and Settlement Agent Services, Non-bank Acquiring Services activities as permissible under Super Agent, PTSP and PSSP) | 2 Billion |
| 63 | SUPER AGENT (Agent Recruitment Management and other activities as specified in the Regulatory Framework for Licensing Super Agents in Nigeria) | 50 Million |
| 64 | STOCKBROKER | 200 Million |
| 65 | STOCK DEALER | 100 Million |
| 66 | TRAVEL/TOURS | 30 Million |
| 67 | TAKAFUL INSURANCE (GENERAL AND FAMILY TAKAFUL) | 200 Million |
| 68 | TRUSTEE | 300 Million |
| 69 | UNIT MICROINSURER | 40 Million |
| 70 | UNIT MICRO FINANCE BANK (TIER 1) | 200 Million |
| 71 | UNIT MICRO FINANCE BANK (TIER 2) | 50 Million |
| 72 | UNDERWRITER | 200 Million |
| 73 | VENTURE CAPITAL MANAGER | 20 Million |
CONCLUSION
The list provided above contains the current minimum share capital requirement for setting up a company in Nigeria as of the time of publishing this post. A promoter of a company may use either this amount of shares or more when setting up a company. But they cannot use less.
As business continues to evolve, there are bound to be changes with regard to share capital requirements. We recommend you seek the services of a Business or Corporate Lawyer/Law Firm that has the requisite knowledge and expertise about your industry.
Need to make more inquiries about minimum share capital requirement or need help with setting up your company in Nigeria as either a citizen or a foreigner? Feel free to reach out to us by clicking the Whatsapp icon on the lower right part of this page or send a message HERE, and we’ll be delighted to speak with you.
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