The regulatory framework for commodities exchange in Nigeria is the Investment and Securities Act (ISA) 2007 and the “Requirements for Registration as Commodities Exchange Operators” issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) pursuant to the ISA. The ISA mentions “commodity exchanges” in section 13(b) as one of…
Crowdfunding has emerged as an innovative funding mechanism for MSMEs, especially in the agricultural sector. Crowdfunding involves raising small amount of money from many people using an online platform. While crowdfunding is relatively well developed in more advanced economies, the phenomenon is gaining increasing popularity in Nigeria, especially…
Overall, the Factoring Assignments Bill presents one of the best opportunities to introduce something new and impactful into the regulatory environment for MSMEs in Nigeria. Despite the increasing prominence of factoring globally and in Africa, Nigeria is yet to tap into this financing mechanism. According to the Afreximbanki,…
This Bill is “for an Act to provide for the regulation of franchising in Nigeria; and for related matters”. The franchise business model dates as far back as the early 1950s in Nigeria, but mainly regulated by the law of contract. Other laws relating to intellectual property –…
The idea of an Industrial Property Commission has been around in Nigeria for many years now. The crux of the idea is a consolidation of the various aspects of intellectual property that relates directly to industrial application (such as trademarks, patents, and industrial designs) and place them under…
Nigeria needs a trade remedies legislation and institution, especially as the country joins other African countries to commence trading under the AfCFTA . Trade remedies laws and institutions allow a country to protect its domestic industries from unfair import competition. It addresses such issues as safeguard from import…
According to the SMEDAN National Policy on MSMEs, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are broadly defined as businesses with staff that are less than 200 employees and turn-over of less than NGN1bn. According to the International Council for Small Businesses, MSMEs makeup over 90% of all businesses…