Afrigather The UK-Nigeria Tech Hub, Viaduct Design and Creativity Basis, and Golborne Highway Advisory (GRA) are happy to announce the profitable conclusion of the primary section of the Regulatory and Compliance Faculty Venture which held on Tuesday August 6, 2024 at Victoria Island, Lagos, This essential initiative is designed to bolster the regulatory and compliance capacities of Nigerian tech startups, equipping them to navigate the complexities of the native enterprise setting.
Regulatory compliance presents important challenges for a lot of Nigerian fintech startups, notably in mild of evolving laws such because the Nigeria Information Safety Invoice, 2023. The Regulatory and Compliance Faculty Venture was conceived to deal with these challenges by imparting important data and abilities. The primary section of this system supplied complete coaching by means of a sequence of intensive workshops, overlaying vital areas comparable to normal compliance, taxation, knowledge privateness, anti-money laundering, and fintech licensing. These classes have been led by Temitope Adenaike, Firm Secretary & Common Counsel at Coronation Group and Faruq Abbas, Managing Accomplice at Abdusalaam Abbas & Co., who shared deep insights and sensible case research tailor-made to the particular wants of Nigerian tech startups.
Along with overlaying broad regulatory themes, the workshops supplied detailed steering on particular obligations comparable to annual returns filings, pension remittances, and expatriate quota returns. The facilitators provided clear and actionable recommendation on these duties underneath Nigerian regulation, delving into the intricacies of the Worker Compensation Scheme, Industrial Coaching Fund (ITF), and anti-money laundering compliance, all of that are vital for startups striving to satisfy statutory necessities successfully.
The primary section noticed participation from twenty-two startups throughout numerous sectors, with a good portion (55%) of individuals being fintech corporations. Others represented sectors comparable to insurance coverage tech, well being tech, logistics, SaaS, edtech, e-commerce, and authorized tech. The range in each business illustration and phases of growth—from pre-incorporation startups to these with as much as 5 years of operation—underscored the great nature of the coaching, which addressed regulatory points together with knowledge safety and privateness, licensing and permits, monetary reporting and taxation, and labour legal guidelines.
In accordance with Kayode Adegbola, Lead Advisor at Golborne Highway Advisory, “we’re happy to be the chosen accomplice of UK-Nigeria Tech Hub to ship this impactful undertaking to Nigerian corporations, aligning with our mission of advising startups on authorities relations, regulatory points, and compliance in Nigeria and throughout Africa.”
Suggestions from individuals has been overwhelmingly optimistic, with many highlighting the sensible applicability of the data gained and the readability supplied on navigating complicated regulatory necessities. Faruq Abbass, one of many facilitators, emphasised the vital significance of regulatory compliance for startups, noting, “Regulatory compliance goes past ticking packing containers to fulfill statutory necessities, notably for startup corporations desirous of remaining going considerations. Failure to keep up a monitor file of regulatory compliance tends to adversely have an effect on early-stage startups as it might probably hinder their skill to boost capital by way of loans, grants, or enterprise capital, as traders within the startup ecosystem globally and domestically have begun to prioritize detailed due diligence checks on the startups they intend to spend money on.” Temitope Adenaike additional underscored the relevance of staying knowledgeable about new laws, notably for privately owned tech and fintech corporations, in mild of latest SEC pointers relating to share issuance and allotment.
With the inspiration now firmly established, this system will proceed to its second section, which can delve into specialised regulatory subjects comparable to cybersecurity, client safety, and mental property rights. This system will culminate with a closing occasion after three months of free compliance clinics with GRA.
Oyinkansola Akintola-Bello, Director, UK-Nigeria Tech Hub remarked
“This session proved the significance of compliance and regulation for startups, and we’re excited to see the ecosystem response to the initiative and are proud to be supporting the free clinics with GRA for startups”.
This initiative has been made doable by means of the beneficiant assist of the UK-Nigeria Tech Hub, which stays dedicated to fostering sustainable progress inside Nigeria’s tech ecosystem. By empowering startups with the instruments to satisfy regulatory calls for, the Regulatory and Compliance Faculty Venture isn’t solely enhancing the resilience of particular person companies but additionally contributing to the soundness and progress of the broader ecosystem. For additional particulars on find out how to take part within the upcoming cohorts, startups are inspired to fill out a questionnaire obtainable on our web site atwww.gra.africa/complianceschool. For added inquiries, please e mail [email protected].
UK-Nigeria Tech Hub is an initiative by the UK Authorities to assist the expansion of the Nigerian tech ecosystem.
Golborne Highway Advisory is a boutique advisory agency devoted to serving to startups and corporations in Africa to navigate the regulatory setting.
Viaduct Design and Creativity Basis is a non-governmental organisation which carries out assist initiatives to founders and creatives in Nigeria.
