Doing in Business in Nigeria

The Federal Republic of Nigeria (“Nigeria”), the most populous country in Africa, accounts for one-sixth of Africa’s population. Nigeria also plays host to one of the continent’s fastest-growing economies. Following a contraction of 1.8% in 2020 with growth losses occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic (“the Pandemic”), the economy rebounded and grew by 3.6% in 2021, growing faster than expected.¹ In 2022, Nigeria’s GDP is predicted to grow faster than its population and will be driven by agriculture, services (trade, ICT, financial services), and the non-oil industry (construction, food).²

As countries compete for investments and economic growth it is the duty of every responsive government to provide an enabling environment for businesses to thrive and to attract foreign investments. Thus, in recent times, the focus of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) has been on catalyzing a stable business environment with landmark legislative reforms, including but not limited to the Secured Transactions in Movable Assets Act No. 3 2017, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission Act No. 1 2018; the Companies and Allied Matters Act No. 3 2020 (“CAMA”); Banks and Other Financial Institution Act No. 5 2020 (“BOFIA”); the Finance Acts (2019, 2020, & 2021), the Petroleum Industry Act No. 6 2021 (“PIA”). To reinforce the positive impact of these legislations, the FGN has through executive orders, like the Executive Order on Promotion of Transparency and Efficiency in the Business Environment (2017), created more certainty and transparency to the model of doing business in Nigeria.

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This article was originally published in The Legal 500.