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Fixing the Price of Cement in Nigeria: Some Key Competition Law Considerations
The recent announcement of an agreement between the Nigerian Government and cement manufacturers in Nigeria to peg the price of a 50kg bag of cement at between N7000 and N8000 (the “Pricing Mandate”) raises some important questions of competition law because price fixing is generally prohibited by Nigeria’s competition law
Debt-for-Nature Swaps in Nigeria: Key Commercial Considerations
Especially for developing countries in Africa, debt-for-nature swaps are great tool for sovereigns to replace expensive debt and to put increasing sovereign deb...
Raising Money via Securitizations: Key Considerations for Startups
Contrary to common belief, the financing round following a Series A financing need not be a Series B equity financing. In between one equity financing round and the other, it is often prudent for founders to explore other innovative strategies for raising capital.
FX Liquidity: Driving Growth through Non-Resident Accounts
In this update, we reflect on some learnings from recent corporate financing and fund formation transactions in sharing some insights around the need for Nigeria's central bank to review its rules around the operation of non-resident accounts.
Venture Capital Portfolio Roll-Ups Can Refine Exit Strategy in Africa
Portfolio add-ons and roll-ups are a great way for venture capital funds focused on tech companies in Africa to qualify an existing portfolio for an IPO, grow revenues, lower costs and improve an underperforming portfolio
Immunity of the Central Bank: Legal Issues Arising
The recent suspension and subsequent arrest of Nigeria’s central bank Governor and some Deputy Governors, as well as the appointment of an independent panel to ...
Doing Business in Nigeria Using Joint Venture Structures
Joint ventures have proven to be a highly resilient market-entry structure for conducting business in Nigeria. These strategic partnerships allow foreign busine...
Is Web Scraping Illegal in Nigeria?
This legal update highlights some key legal issues for web scraping companies in Nigeria, based on a recent client engagement.
The Quincecare Duty of Care: Lessons for Nigerian Banks & Fintechs
The Quincecare duty is an implied legal duty of care placed on commercial banks, investment banks, fintechs[1] and other financial institutions (“Banks”) to refrain from executing a payment instruction where there are reasonable grounds for believing that, a payment instruction is given dishonestly or that such payment instruction is an attempt to misappropriate customer funds.
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
Registering a Nigerian Venture Fund: Some Key Issues
Nigeria’s venture capital rules do not appear to have been designed to attract modern venture capital. That’s concerning because venture capital fund managers perform an ..
Twitter Suspension in Nigeria: Some Key Policy & Legal Considerations for Web Platforms
Nigeria has no legal or regulatory construct similar to Section 230 (c) (1) & (2)[1]. The implication is that, providers of interactive computer services (“Platforms”) will likely be treated by ..
Client Update: The Constitutional Limitations of the Limited Partnership Laws in Lagos State
April 4, 2017 With the introduction of a pioneer framework for registering Limited Liability Partnerships and Limited Partnerships in Nigeria, Lagos State gain...