The 2026 Shift: Recent Tax and Securities Legislation Impacting the Onshore Footprint of Offshore Private Equity and Venture Capital Funds

Do you need to file a Defensive Trademark? What are the Rules for Filing Defensive Trademarks in Nigeria

One of the more consistent intellectual property management strategies that global brands deploy to prevent a dilution of their trademarks and to increase the value of their trademarks is to file a Defensive Trademark. If you are thinking about preventing dilution and increasing the value of your trademark, you should consider filing a Defensive Trademark

March 16, 2023

Mini-Bid Licensing Rounds 2022 - A Highlight of the Bid Submission Regulations for Offshore Petroleum Prospecting Licenses in Nigeria

On December 21, 2022, the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (the “Commission”) announced licensing rounds for seven (7) offshore blocks covering an area of approximately 6,700 km2 in water depths of 1,150m to 3,100m. This legal update summaries the legal framework, bidding procedure and the eligibility requirements for participating in the licensing round.

December 28, 2022

Infrastructure, Power & Energy

Mini-Bid Licensing Rounds 2022 - A Highlight of the Bid Submission Regulations for Offshore Petroleum Prospecting Licenses in Nigeria

December 28, 2022

Avoiding Permanent Establishment Risk - Nigeria's New Dependent Agents Rule

Presidential Order 5 has thrown up an array of contracting structures between local promoters and foreign OEMs and partners looking to bid for government contracts. These contractual arrangements are increasingly subject to litigation both from a taxation point of view and from the standpoint of counterparty liability and risk. Nigeria wholly consumes foreign technology, and as such, it is expected that such collaborations will continue.

December 7, 2022

Conducting Layoffs in Tech Start-ups: What are the Rules for Nigerian Layoffs?

Layoffs are always going to be a tough decision for management but may also become necessary for the survival of an employer’s business. Depending on the factors giving rise to a management decision to conduct a layoff exercise..

November 9, 2022

409A Valuation: What is it? Why is it necessary and When would you need one?

As a tech founder, there are generally two types of company valuations that you would be involved with during the life of your startup. The first and the more common one is the venture investment valuation.

November 8, 2022

Infrastructure, Power & Energy

3.5GHz Spectrum Band Auction to Support 5G Deployment in Nigeria

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has commenced a public consultation in regard to the upcoming auction of the remaining lots of 2 x 100MHz in the 3.5GHz spectrum band to support 5G deployment in Nigeria

November 5, 2022

Infrastructure, Power & Energy

What is Spectrum Licensing?

A radio spectrum is the primary subject of spectrum licensing and as such, it does help to have a background knowledge of what a radio spectrum. In simple terms, a radio spectrum is an electromagnetic spectrum of wave frequencies useful for wireless communication. Radio waves are invisible and undetectable to human sense but lie at the heart of modern communications technology. Radio transmission technology involves electro-magnetic waves radiating outwards from one radio equipment to another.

November 5, 2022

Operational Guidelines for Representative Offices of Foreign Banks

Challenger banks now have a window to establish a representative office in Nigeria. This is because of the newly proposed CBN Guideline on the Regulation of Representative Offices of Foreign Banks in Nigeria (the “Regulations”).

November 4, 2022

What is a Permanent Establishment? Do you Have One?

If a foreign business has a Nigeria permanent establishment (PE) then the profits of the business that are attributable to that PE, either directly or indirectly, are chargeable to Nigeria tax.

November 4, 2022

New Digital Money Lender Regulations in Nigeria: Some Legal Issues

Nigeria’s consumer protection regulator, the FCCPC, recently published a Limited Interim Regulatory/Registration Framework for Digital Lending (“Regulation”)[1] with the intent to regulate digital lenders in Nigeria.

August 25, 2022

Our Fundraising Round is Taking Longer Than Usual. What Options Do We Have?

If you are fundraising and your fundraising round is taking longer than usual, you may be heading towards a down round. In this update, we conclude that, whats key is for founders is to (a) think outside the box and not assume that venture capital is the only financing option available to them (b) review corporate strategy. Here are some options you may want to bear in mind, before considering a down round

July 26, 2022

What is a Down Round Financing? How Will a Down Round Financing Impact VCs & Founders?

What is a down round financing and how will it affect you? Tech start-ups and VCs often work with the assumption that the price of the shares sold in a later financing round will be higher than the price of shares sold in an earlier round.

July 26, 2022

Why Do I Need a Legal Opinion & Why is My Series A Investor Asking For One?

If you are raising a Series A Financing (or any priced equity around), US venture capital firms will typically ask you to provide a legal opinion, as one of the closing conditions for a venture capital financing.

July 21, 2022

Avoiding Permanent Establishment Risk - Nigeria's New Dependent Agents Rule

Presidential Order 5 has thrown up an array of contracting structures between local promoters and foreign OEMs and partners looking to bid for government contracts. These contractual arrangements are increasingly subject of litigation both from a taxation point of view and from the standpoint of counterparty liability and risk. Nigeria wholly consumes foreign technology and as such it is expected that such collaborations will continue.

July 15, 2022

Nigeria’s Proposed Internet & Social Media Regulation: Key Takeways

Nigeria has recently published a draft of its proposed social media laws. There are important thematic similarities between Nigeria’s social media laws and the proposed H.B. 20 in Texas, the European Digital Services Act, the UK Online Safety Bill and the Indian Intermediary Rules.

June 15, 2022

Rising Inflation & the Interest Rate Hike by The Central Bank – A Primer

There has been a palpable increase in the prices of goods and services in Nigeria, in recent time. The Central Bank of Nigeria (the “CBN”) is now taking steps to address the situation and to maintain price stability[1]. One of the steps the CBN has taken to is to increase the Monetary Policy Rate, by 150 basis points, from 11.5% to 13%.On July 19, 2022, for the second time in the year, the MPC hiked the Monetary Policy Rate by 100bps to 14.00%.

June 6, 2022

A Highlight of Development Finance Programmes by the Central Bank of Nigeria

In furtherance of its developmental functions under section 31 of the CBN Act, the Central Bank of Nigeria (the “CBN”) has vastly expanded its lending programs to the private sector in a bit to expand productive capacity, locally. The below summarises some of the key intervention programmes of the CBN across sectors

June 2, 2022

Private Equity Co-Investments - The New Regulations for Pension Funds

Nigeria’s Pension Regulator, Pencom, has recently issued regulations permitting pension funds to co-invest in private equity funds with the expectation that, allowing pension funds to co-invest with qualifying private equity funds will increase pension fund exposure to private equity. Expectedly, the Regulations prescribe minimum co-investment requirements, with the intent of ensuring the safety of retirement savings.

June 2, 2022

Insights

Why is the Nigerian SEC Regulating Digital Assets? What Do Fintechs Need to Know?

The Securities & Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) has an inherent economic role of facilitating capital formation, meaning, from an economic standpoint, the SEC is also partly responsible for finding and regulating new and innovative ways by which members of the public pool capital together to invest in and promote economic activity. Within that context, the SEC’s decision to

May 23, 2022