Nigeria startup act - Afrikan Heroes

Nigeria Passes Startup Bill

October 20, 2022

At last, the Nigerian government has followed the footsteps of other countries to push through the Startup Bill which is expected to help engender Nigeria’s tech ecosystem.

Nigeria’s minister for communications and digital economy, Isa Pantami, announced that the Nigeria Startup Bill had been signed into law.

It could be recalled that since October 2021, stakeholders in Nigeria’s tech ecosystem have been working with several governmental parastatals to pass a bill—the Nigeria Startup Bill (NSB)—that provides an enabling environment for tech startups in Nigeria.

In the last two years, Nigeria has made regulatory changes that have stopped some startups in their tracks– like this 2020 state regulation that banned bike-hailing startups in Lagos, Nigeria’s most populous city.

With the Nigeria Startup Bill—now the Nigeria Startup Act—the gap between startups and regulators will be bridged. The Act will make tax break provisions for new startups. It will also provide tax incentives for foreign service providers. It also delineates requirements for registration and licensing or labelling of startups.

A draft bill was first submitted to the Presidency and the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

The NSB might be law in Nigeria, but there is still much work to be done before it’s the apex law guiding Nigeria’s tech ecosystem. Presently, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) is still toying around with a new NITDA Act that contradicts the NSB. For example, while the NSB will give tech startups tax breaks, the NITDA Act heavily taxes startups. This approval is only one battle won in the regulatory war for Nigeria’s tech ecosystem.

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

Nigeria Finally Gets A Startup Act After Presidential Assent. Find The New Law Below

October 19, 2022

The Nigeria Startup Act, introduced in Parliament by the Republic’s Presidency and the country’s inventive tech sector in March, has been signed into law by Nigeria’s president. The new law was adopted by the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on Wednesday, July 20 this year, and then later by the country’s House of Representatives.

The purpose of the Startup Bill is to “provide a favourable environment for a start-formation, up’s growth, and operation in Nigeria. Encourage the growth of talent in the technology sector and establish Nigeria’s startup ecosystem as the continent’s premier digital technology hub, with outstanding innovators with cutting-edge expertise and exportable ability,” the government says.

Since October 2021, the government has embarked on the establishment of a regulatory framework conducive to the emergence of innovative tech companies. Currently, Nigerian start-ups are the ones attracting the most investment in Africa. They have managed to thrive in a business environment built on long-term battles led by the private sector. Today, given the impact on the economic growth of States that several analysts attribute to start-ups in the digital age, the public sector is determined to provide them with a more favorable framework for expression.

Nigeria has included a number of amenities in its new law on startups that will hasten their maturity. These include a label that will provide businesses that acquire it with tax benefits, money resources via a fund set aside for support. The government also places a high priority on education.

Once the bill is approved, Nigeria will become one of the few African countries with start-up-specific regulations. Senegal, Tunisia, and Mali are among them.

Download the proposed Nigerian Startup Act here.

Startup Act Nigeria Startup Act Nigeria

A New $4M Digital Energy Fund Launched For African Startups. Here’s How It Will Work

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh

Nigeria Two Steps Away From Getting A Startup Act. Find The Bill Below

July 23, 2022

The Nigerian Startup Bill, introduced in Parliament by the Republic’s Presidency and the country’s inventive tech sector in March, was adopted by the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on Wednesday, July 20. The House of Representatives’ approval, to which the legal text has already been submitted for approval, is now all that is needed. The Head of State will then simply need to sign it.

African-tech-startup-funding-rises-51-to-195M-in-2017

The purpose of the Startup Bill is to “provide a favourable environment for a start-formation, up’s growth, and operation in Nigeria. Encourage the growth of talent in the technology sector and establish Nigeria’s startup ecosystem as the continent’s premier digital technology hub, with outstanding innovators with cutting-edge expertise and exportable ability,” the government says.

Since October 2021, the government has embarked on the establishment of a regulatory framework conducive to the emergence of innovative tech companies. Currently, Nigerian start-ups are the ones attracting the most investment in Africa. They have managed to thrive in a business environment built on long-term battles led by the private sector. Today, given the impact on the economic growth of States that several analysts attribute to start-ups in the digital age, the public sector is determined to provide them with a more favorable framework for expression.

Nigeria has included a number of amenities in its new law on startups that will hasten their maturity. These include a label that will provide businesses that acquire it with tax benefits, money resources via a fund set aside for support. The government also places a high priority on education.

Once the bill is approved, Nigeria will become one of the few African countries with start-up-specific regulations. Senegal, Tunisia, and Mali are among them.

Download the proposed Nigerian Startup Act here.

Startup Act Nigeria Startup Act Nigeria

A New $4M Digital Energy Fund Launched For African Startups. Here’s How It Will Work

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh