Manufacturers Urged to go for the Highest Standards

The only way local manufacturers can remain competitive in a fast changing world is go for highest standards; this was the submission of business analysts at a one day seminar on ways to get African exports to compete favourably in the international market. The event which took place in Cairo Egypt had in attendance manufacturers from different parts of the continent. The event jointly hosted by the African Organisation for Standards (ARSO), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the African Union (AU) gave insight on the best way to go. To this end, efforts are being made to that more of such seminars led by the Workshop on Harmonisation of Trade Standards to facilitate intra-African trade in the context of the AfCFTA will come on-stream soonest.

Professor Ameenah Girub-Fakim, former President of Mauritius says standards harmonisation will create a quality culture in manufacturers and SMEs to boost market competitiveness. She, however hinged this on the provision of quality infrastructure. She notes that standards have become the default form of trade barrier which she traced to the rise of non-tariff barriers to trade replacing overt trade quotas and tariffs.

Some countries are emulating rich, advanced economies that have perfected the use of standards as barriers to trade, which hurt the least developed countries. Prof. Girub-Fakim says specifications are so designed to be so complex that African businesses and exporters wishing to comply are forced to embark on product modification and adjustments which take several months or years to accomplish. “Such tactics become market entry barrier, especially when they are not required of domestic firms,” she says.

Ambassador Albert Muchanga, African Union (AU) Trade Commissioner stressed the importance of intra-African trade as a public good. He argued that trade can be facilitated by the harmonization of standards subscribed to by all players in the envisaged broader, pan-African unified market. Standardization, he contended, would smooth the flow of trade within the continent. “How else would we trust our goods and products?” he asked, rhetorically.

The AU, he said, would get its members on board to implement agreements reached on standards while also working with the ARSO. For Dr Eva Gadzikwa, ARSO President, momentum is on the side of the AfCFTA. She however reminded panelists that success would rest not only on the standardization of goods but also on free movement of persons.

Speakers at the various sessions emphasized the buy-in of the private sector, especially SMEs which do not have the financial muscle and the technical resources to meet rigorous and stringent conditions. Gerald Masila, Executive Director and Board Secretary, East African Grain Council identifies the challenges as “testing and certification”. He gave an account of how the council is dealing with capacity building and technology to achieve results. The council has taken to two-way communication with farmers and businesses in agro-allied industry to sensitize them about the inevitability of standards in the export sector. More important, the council is investing in technology to provide facilities for such processes as hermetic sealing of packed, stored grains to preserve them, thus obviating the need for application of pesticides.

Sandra Uwera, CEO, COMESA Business Council was on the same page as Masira. She agreed that the stakeholders had to have the right information about the right products and the right processing systems to adopt. She urged member-countries to consider the introduction of precision agriculture since a majority of African exports are agricultural commodities.

Afreximbank’s Director, Project Finance, Kofi Adomakoh, fittingly, supplied the finance angle to the debate. He, like his co-panellists, saw the challenges of testing and certification of African exports as daunting, noting, rather unhappily, that many exporters have had their goods rejected for falling short of some standard or requirement. In response, Afreximbank is helping countries to develop testing, inspection and certification centres such as the on-going one in Nigeria. The bank believes that such centres would soon be established around the continent to facilitate not only intra-African trade but Africa’s trade with the world at large.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.

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For the first time in Kenya’s entire history, it would be shipping oil out to other countries. With its current GDP of $74.94 billion, a population of 49.7 million and a 2017 GDP per capita of over $1500, Kenya is gradually coming back as a force to reckon with in Africa. Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenya’s President has just flagged off Kenya’s maiden crude oil export with a warning against corruption that may deny people the opportunity to benefit from the resource.

Here Is All You Need To Know

• The crude oil will be shipped by Chinese state-owned firm ChemChina which won the tender to buy the maiden Kenyan oil at a premium early this month. 
• Mv Celsius Riga will deliver the Sh1.2b consignment Malaysia.
• On August 1 the Government announced that the oil produced in Turkana and stock it at the Kenya Petroleum Refineries Ltd’s (KPRL) storage facilities in Mombasa would be sold at Sh1.2 billion ($12 million).
• This deal which is the first-ever in the whole of Kenya’s history saw Kenya selling off 200,000 barrels of oil at a price of Sh1.2 billion ($12m).
• Kenya discovered commercial oil reserves in its Lokichar basin in 2012 and Tullow Oil estimates the basin to contain an estimated 560 million barrels in so-called 2C proven and probable oil reserves.
• Tullow has said this would translate to 60,000 to 100,000 barrels per day of gross production.
• Tullow Oil is a multinational oil and gas exploration company founded in Tullow, Ireland with its headquarters in London, United Kingdom. It has interests in over 150 licenses across 25 countries with 67 producing fields and in 2012 produced on average 79,200 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

• The government and Tullow Oil had expected to start exporting crude under the Early Oil Pilot Scheme (EOPS) by June this year but that appeared unlikely with the company only having trucked about half of the amount that will be needed for the first shipment.
• In May, Kenya’s Ministry of Petroleum said about 88,000 barrels of oil had so far been trucked to Mombasa and was targeting to accumulate 200,000 barrels that would form the first export cargo.
• The oil that has been ferried to Mombasa was produced in 2015 during an extended well testing exercise. By end of March, Tullow had shipped all the oil stored in Lokichar and has been setting up an Early Production Facility, which will produce 2,000 barrels a day.

Currently, major oil producers in Africa include Nigeria (0.0449), Libya (0.0101), Egypt (0.0418) and Algeria (0.0913), producing a total of 0.1881 trillion cubic feet of gas cumulatively which is 5.4 percent of the world’s total production.

In 2018, Africa’s total oil production amounted to around 8.19 million barrels of oil per day.

Africa’s production rate is, however, decreasing at a rate of 1.1 percent per annum. Africa’s consumption rate is at 138.2 billion cubic meters at a growth rate of 1.4 percent. It would take Africa 68 years to completely deplete its reserves.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.

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Financial comparison website Fincheck said it had taken over the full management and equity in FundingHub, making it South Africa’s biggest such site and the largest lead aggregator having signed on 71 banks, lenders and insurers. FundingHub was founded two years ago and allows SME’s to apply for business finance, in under six minutes.

FundingHub offers 30 alternative lenders and banks able to meet the needs of South African small and medium enterprises (SMEs) looking for finance to grow their businesses.

What is FundingHub?

The business started two years ago and has attracted average loan sizes of R300 000, with the largest loan being R72m.

SMEs who apply for funding on the online hub must have been in business for at least 12 months, with R1m annual turnover.

“FundingHub allows SMEs to apply in under six minutes for business finance, comparing multiple accredited finance providers and to make the most appropriate choice based on their business needs,” Fincheck CEO Michael Bowren said.

He noted that many different forms of finance were available to small and medium enterprises, making it difficult for them to choose which lender was best suited to their business needs.

“For instance, a business may not know whether it needs equipment finance, unsecured or secured term loans, overdrafts, lines of credit, debtor finance, merchant cash advances or credit cards,” said Bowren.

“Free-to-use and independent FundingHub makes this really simple by filtering options and offering quotes from the most appropriate funders for their business.”

Finance comparison across all sectors

Fincheck is a gold member of AlphaCode — Rand Merchant Investment Holdings, incubation, acceleration and investment vehicle for early-stage businesses which can disrupt the financial services industry.

“Business finance has come a long way since the days when SMEs had to approach their business bank manager, who didn’t know their business, who wanted a great deal of information and then would take around five months to revert with a no,” AlphaCode head Dominique Collett said.

“Many of the fintechs on the FundingHub platform can put money in a business account within 24 hours.”

Fincheck said it would continue its core offering which allows consumers to compare business finance, business insurance, personal finance, life insurance, funeral cover, vehicle finance and insurance, debt consolidation and counselling as well as allowing a complete health check.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/Afrikanheroes/

African Energy Chamber to Woo Chinese Investors

As part of efforts aimed at opening up the African energy market to different investment community aside from European and American investors that have dominated it for close to half a century, the African Energy Chambers is embarking on an investment tour of China with aim to support growing energy cooperation and investment between China and Africa. This visit observers noted is coming at a very auspicious time especially with the TICAD taking place in Tokyo Japan within the week. The visit led by Executive Chairman Nj Ayuk, the delegation from the Chamber will be meeting with CEOs and Chairmen from China’s state-owned energy companies and the private sector, along with key industry associations in China.

Aimed at further introducing African energy firms to the Chinese market following a series of roadshows organized in China by the Chamber over the past two years and increasing demand for investment information on Africa by Chinese investors. The need to make strong what has been achieved so far has become imperative says the organizers of the event. According to Mickael Vogel, the Chambers Director of Strategy, the investment appetite of Chinese companies for Africa is only getting stronger given current international trade and business dynamics. Mr Vogel further notes that African firms are receiving an increasing number of requests from Chinese companies to join the Chamber, especially to gain access to the latest investment opportunities in Africa, and to credible and reliable information on African energy markets. He added that this visit to China will be consolidating several relationships developed over the past two years and will lead to discussion on major energy deals for Africa.

It could be recalled that the Chinese President Xi Jinping last year pledged an additional $60bn for African development over the next three years during the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. Traditionally, a large majority of Chinese investments have been made in energy and transport, especially oil & gas, power, mining, railways and airport infrastructure.

With the growing interest of Chinese investors in Africa, there is need for the Chamber and its members to rightly position themselves to reap from every available opening. To this end, the Chamber is assisting several Chinese companies in navigating Africa’s fast growing energy markets. The move is part of the Chamber’s support to a large and expanding base of investors seeking to do business in Africa, mostly from China, Russia, India the Middle East and Turkey.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/Afrikanheroes/

This could be one of the most frustrating moments for Zimbabwean richest man, Strive Masiyiwa’s Mauritius incorporated Econet Media Limited. The media company popular for its Kwese TV has come to the end of the road. The satellite broadcast company has put up for sale its shares in 13 countries, mostly African, after going insolvent, having reportedly racked up millions of dollars in liabilities.

“Offers are invited for the purchase of the company’s shares held in the above mentioned subsidiaries/associates or the business activities,” Econet Media said in an invitation to tender.

Here Is All You Need To Know

• The company said in a statement it was selling its shares in Econet Media or Kwese TV in South Africa, Botswana, Nigeria, Ghana, Dubai, Kenya, Malawi, Lesotho, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Mauritius.
• The Mauritius-headquartered group, which mainly traded under the brands Kwese TV or Econet Media, is also selling its interest in free-to-air television and digital distribution of media content.
• Econet Media, a unit of Econet Wireless International, which operated as Kwese TV in Zimbabwe, but closed after finding the going tough, had racked up over US$130 million in external liabilities before being placed under voluntary administration after failing to pay suppliers.
• The business, controlled by the South Africa-based Zimbabwean businessman, then hired Ernst and Young’s Paul Gerald Lincoln, a licensed insolvency practitioner, in an effort to salvage the business.
• Kwesé was launched by Econet Media — which is owned by Zimbabwe’s richest man Strive Masiyiwa in 2015 and offers sports and entertainment services across a dozen African countries. It also offered a Roku-based VoD streaming service, Kwesé Play which was launched in 2017

Reasons For Closing Down

Group CEO Econet Media Douglas Mboweni blamed Zimbabwe’s economic downturn along with problems caused by the country’s decision to switch from a multi-currency system to a local currency that led to soaring inflation.

“We regret to announce the discontinuation of Kwesé TV Satellite Service with effect from 5 August,” Mboweni said in a statement on Sunday.

“The third-party content providers on whose content we rely require payment in foreign currency,” he added. “With the prevailing economic conditions in Zimbabwe, and the current business operating environment — characterised by an acute shortage of foreign currency — sustaining Kwesé and Kwesé Satellite Service was no longer viable.”

Bottom Line

Nothing remains to be said than that government policies kill businesses faster than any other factors.

Recall that international and regional currencies such as the rand, US Dollar, Botswana Pula, and British Pound were recently made acceptable in Zimbabwe as legal tender. Zimbabwean government, thereafter, went on to gazette mandatory and sole usage of the Zimbabwe Dollar for all local transactions.

However, government policies, alone, are not to blame. In November, 2018, Econet Media announced a major review of its business strategy and service offerings, to align them with the changes in the global digital and satellite broadcasting sector, and growth in access to mobile and fixed broadband on the continent.

The strategy review will see Africa’s leading multiplatform broadcast network focusing on three core services; Kwesé Free Sports (KFS), Kwesé iflix and Kwesé Play. KFS is Africa’s largest free-to-air TV service, Kwesé iflix is Africa’s leading mobile video-on-demand sports and entertainment platform while Kwesé Play is a leading-edge video streaming service with more than 200 sports, entertainment, kids and news channels including Red Bull TV, NBA, YouTube, TED and Bloomberg, the company said. 

With increased focus on these three services, Econet Media will streamline its direct-to-home satellite television service. This will see the reduction of third-party channels available on the bouquet, as well as the removal of Kwesé branded sports (excluding KFS) and general entertainment channels. The broadcaster’s new bouquet will carry FTA, religious, and free news channels which will be available to viewers for a minimal fee, as the broadcaster will waive monthly subscription fees. Kwesé subscribers who have already paid their subscriptions for the month of November, or in advance, will receive a full refund.

It does however appear that these strategies did not work and that government policies were the final straws that broke the camel’s back.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/Afrikanheroes/

• As revived national carrier Uganda Airlines prepares to take to the skies officially on Wednesday, for the first time in nearly 18 years, its most booked route out of its four initial destinations is Mogadishu.

Mogadishu is currently followed by Nairobi, whose bookings are fast coming in and are expected to peak as the flight date draws closer.

In Summary

• Its most booked route out of its four initial destinations is Mogadishu.
• Mogadishu is currently followed by Nairobi, whose bookings are fast coming in and are expected to peak as the flight date draws closer.
• Uganda Airlines is currently the only airline flying direct from Entebbe to Mogadishu. Kenya Airways and Ethiopian Airways make stopovers at their hubs before connecting.

Uganda Airlines will start with flights to Nairobi, Dar-es Salaam, Juba and Mogadishu

The first flight is expected to leave Entebbe at 6.00am and land at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi at 7.15am.

The Mogadishu flight will leave Entebbe at 5.37pm and land at Aden Adde International Airport at 8:00pm.

Uganda Airlines commercial director Jenifer Bamuturaki told The EastAfrican that more clients have booked the Mogadishu flight than any other, although she did not give numbers.

Uganda has a relatively large Somali community living in Kampala, many of whom are keen to travel to their homeland.

“The increased bookings are because of a high demand along this route, and also because we are offering direct flights from Entebbe to Mogadishu,” Ms Bamuturaki said.

Uganda Airlines is currently the only airline flying direct from Entebbe to Mogadishu

 Kenya Airways and Ethiopian Airways make stopovers at their hubs before connecting.

“With time, we will increase the number of flights from Entebbe to Mogadishu from the current four a week to six a week,” Ms Bamuturaki said.

The revived airline also has plans for two daily flights to Nairobi and Juba, and one daily flight to Dar es Salaam, which will be plied by four Bombardier CRJ 900s aircraft, two of which arrived in the country on April 24.

The other two, which were supposed to arrive early next month, are now expected at the start of October, according to Ms Bamuturaki.

The two aircraft will be deployed immediately to new routes, and also to increase frequency on those already started.

The carrier plans to increase the number of destinations

This will include Bujumbura (three times weekly), Mombasa (three times weekly), and Kilimanjaro (daily). Other destinations will be Harare, Accra, Lusaka and Johannesburg.

The airline recently released promotional rates that will run for two months: Return tickets cost $278 for Nairobi, $225 for Juba, $590 for Mogadishu, $286 for Dar es Salaam, $292 for Bujumbura, $325 for Mombasa and $311 for Kilimanjaro.

The government has also made a down payment of Ush74 billion ($20 million) on two Airbus A330–800 Neos, which will be used for long haul flights and are expected to be in the country between 2020 and 2021. The airline will then introduce longer flights to Europe, China, and India.

Jonathan Kamoga writes @The_EastAfrican

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/Afrikanheroes/

Sundry Foods, the owner of Nigeria ’s food service brand Kilimanjaro has secured new round of funding from the Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (Norfund). The investment marks one of Norfund’s first investments in Nigeria.

Here Is The Deal

• Investment was led by the Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (Norfund).
• The total value of the investment is however not disclosed, but Silk Invest African Food Fund, a Luxembourg-domiciled private equity fund managed by UK-headquartered Silk Invest, who invested in 2012, will be partially exited through this investment.
• Sundry Foods plans to use the funding to increase its footprint in underserved regions in Nigeria  as well as  expand its product offering to meet the growing demand for food services.
• With this expansion, the company will substantially increase its current employment base of over 1,600 staff.
• Norfund expects to add value to Sundry Foods by supporting the company’s expansion plans and its ongoing work on achieving global standards, and by contributing increased expertise and focus on the environmental, social and governance fronts.
• Norfund will partner with management, the company’s Board of Directors and Silk Invest to achieve those plans.

According to Ebele Enunwa, Founder and CEO of Sundry Foods:

“This investment by Norfund is a testament to the hard work we have put into building Sundry Foods into a formidable business in Nigeria’s food services industry over the last 15 years. We like to think of it as an endorsement that we have done something right. With Norfund and our other investors, we are better equipped to pursue the next phase of our growth story. We will be working together to build Nigeria’s premier food company based on the highest levels of systems, food standards and business ethics.”

Why Norfund Invested

Naana Winful Fynn, Regional Director for West Africa for Norfund, said:

“We are excited to partner with Sundry’s leadership team, its Board and its investors including Silk Invest. We will work with these stakeholders as an active owner and contribute to creating the premier food company in Nigeria, which will continue to offer nutritious, healthily-prepared local and contemporary food to its customers; to attain the company’s growth and expansion ambitions and to create jobs for many Nigerians during that journey.”

With This Investment Norfund Has Replaced Silk Invest African Food Fund

Silk Invest African Food Fund, a Luxembourg-domiciled private equity fund managed by UK-headquartered Silk Invest, who invested in 2012, will be partially exited through this investment.

At the time of Silk Invest’s investment, the company had only seven outlets.

Today, Sundry has one of the two leading fully company-operated QSR brands in Nigeria.

Silk Invest remains committed to Sundry Foods and will continue to co-manage a minority stake in Sundry Foods.

Zin Bekkali, CEO of Silk Invest, said: 

“Sundry Foods was from day one a great fit with our objective to support authentic African consumer brands backed by committed entrepreneurs. Its leadership team has over the years consistently delivered, and we hope to continue contributing to its growth journey together with Norfund.”

“The investment team of Norfund has proven over the last months to share common ground in many areas, and we are looking forward to further developing our partnership.”

About Sundry Food 

Sundry Foods is an integrated food services company operating in the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR), Bakery and Catering Services sectors in Nigeria.

Headquartered in Port Harcourt and with regional offices in Lagos and Abuja, Sundry Foods currently has close to 50 outlets consisting of restaurants, bakeries and catering units spread across 11 states in Nigeria.

Its brands include Kilimanjaro, Pizza Jungle, Kilishawarma, Nibbles, Suncrust and Sundry Foods Services.

Today, Sundry Foods is one of the top QSR brands in Nigeria by market share.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/Afrikanheroes/

New York based startup Tastemakers has raised a $1.4 million seed-round — led Precursor Ventures — for its business that connects Africa adventures to global consumers.

Tastemakers’ platform curates, prices, and lists African travel and cultural experiences — from paragliding tours to wine-tasting to concerts.

The startup generates revenues by taking a 20% commission on each transaction. Community managers in Africa screen and select experiences that go up on the site .

Tastemakers will use the investment to grow the number of experiences offered from 200 to 10,000 and build out machine learning capabilities to better match suppliers, experiences, and clients — CEO and founder Cherae Robinson told TechCrunch.

She likened the site to an Airbnb for commoditizing and connecting people to Africa travel experiences at scale.

On the startup’s addressable market, Robinson references a segment of culture curious travelers: people who are travelling to experience things such foreign art, food, music, or dance workshops.

“We looked at who’s doing these kinds of tours and and the number of people booking…and we found that globally, based on triangulating that, there are about 700 million people globally booking culture forward experiences,” said Robinson.

For different reasons — from negative stereotypes or the difficulty of identifying tourist options in Africa — most of these excursions are occurring in other parts of the world, according to Robinson.

She sees Tastemakers’ value proposition as the site that can bring a greater percentage of these culture travelers to Africa.

On revenue potential, Robinson is pretty up front on numbers and goals. “If we can capture 1% of that [700 million] market in the next five years that’s $2.2 billion generated on our platform,” she said, noting an average booking cost of $308. She believes Tastemakers could hit those figures by 2025 — and by applying their 20 percent commission — reach income of $434 million.

Precursor Ventures Managing Partner Charles Hudson invested in Tastemakers for its potential as an early entrant in an off the grid travel market attracting more curiosity.

“I just had a sense that Africa was having a moment, and whether its Black Panther or more startups that have a foot in Africa, that there were more people interested in going to Africa,” he told TechCrunch.

“And it’s not like going to New York City…You have providers that are hard to find and hard to book..that are not super well marketed. If you can become an aggregator and curator of those, you could effectively become the largest source of lead generation,” Hudson said.

Tastemakers is looking at ancillary partnership and revenue share opportunities. It uses Stripe and WorldRemit to process mobile payments for transactions on the site and has done promotional partnerships with Uber Africa. The startup also counts Kempinski Hotels as its biggest lodging partner.

Tastemakers also offers advisory services to sellers on the site, to better determine price-points and on marketing their travel experiences more effectively online.

CEO Cherae Robinson is clear about the company’s for-profit status, but sees upside for Africa beyond generating business from tourism. “I strategically don’t brand Tastemakers as a social impact startup…but we’re driving benefits of the sharing economy to diverse populations both in Africa and in underrepresented communities in the technology and tourism sectors,” she said.

This post originally appeared on Techcrunch

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/Afrikanheroes/

The stage is getting harder for tax defaulting companies in Nigeria. Going forward, any failure to regularise any lien placed on the accounts of companies in Nigeria by Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service, a body responsible for taxing companies in Nigeria, within 30 days of the FIRS notice, will result in the FIRS going after the directors, managers, secretaries and other persons concerned with the management of such companies in a bid to recover tax liabilities owed by the companies. 

The FIRS said it is relying on sections 31, and 49(2)(a-d) of the FIRS Establishment Act to support its planned action

Take A Look At The Notice 

Click here to view a list of the first set of companies to be affected.

”We Are Going After Everybody”

The Nigerian tax agency has recently explained that it is hustling hard to meet its N8 trillion revenue target for 2019. 

The FIRS also seriously wants to increase Nigeria’s current tax population to 45 million. To do that, it would be relying on multiple information sources, Mr Fowler said. And that would include invading the country’s Bank Verification Number database and other related agencies with relevant information.

“We are going after everybody. I am sure you have heard that we have placed lien on some accounts of defaulters that have a billion naira turnover annually. So certainly, we are not leaving anyone out of the tax net,’’ he said.

Voluntary Asset and Income Declaration Scheme (Nigeria ’s Tax Amnesty Programme was launched in 2017) Is Going After Companies.

The programme gave tax defaulters in Nigeria a one-year period of grace to declare and settle their unpaid taxes. This appears to be a hard time ahead for most companies in Nigeria.

Most taxpayers are insisting that the scheme was just designed to eliminate them from business. Mr. Fowler said “administrative error” should take the blame arising from the huge number of accounts involved.

“Well, there is certainly one or two instances where we made administrative error, but when you are looking at over 50,000 accounts. There is a tendency that sometimes an error might be made. For those that we made errors on, I wrote them personally apologising and of course we lifted the lien on their accounts,” he said.

Also See: These Businesses Are Currently Free From Tax In Nigeria

FIRS targets to generate between N750 billion and N1 trillion from the clampdown, which includes closure of defaulters’ bank accounts. So, it is either you obey the amnesty or you close down your business.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/Afrikanheroes/