It takes money to make money. Businesses need money to stock goods, pay staff, acquire licenses, pay rent, carry out marketing activities, pay taxes etc and whilst finances are not necessarily as important as vision and a great product, it is however finance that gives motion to a business idea. Getting finance to kick start and run your idea can be a daunting challenge in Nigeria, and in continuation of our series on Doing Business in Nigeria we now bring [...]
Whilst browsing through financial headlines, the word “Bonds” has most likely popped up a lot of times and typically a lot of people have no clue as to what it means or how to leverage on opportunities it offers. Trading in bonds remains the safest and most predictable investment vehicle all over the world and Nigeria is not an exception. Our discourse this week focuses on the meaning and types of bonds as well as the advantages and process of [...]
Dear Subscriber, The World has become smaller especially with the advent of the internet and it is now simpler for people that are not in the same geographical location to do business without necessarily seeing or meeting each themselves. With this simplicity however comes the huge risk of transacting parties either misunderstanding themselves or a dubious party to the transaction deliberately swindling the innocent party on the other side. As international trade evolved, the need arose for a suitable model that [...]
Dear Subscriber, It is common to hear the word shares or share capital being used in the business sector especially relating to a Limited Liability Company (LLC) or a Public Limited Company (PLC). The word ‘Share’ is synonymous with ownership rights in a company and represents the limits of an individual or corporations rights in a business entity. In Nigeria it is common for Entrepreneurs to reflect deeply on who to bring on board their Company knowing the implications of giving [...]
Dear Subscriber, As business becomes more international in scope, corporations require special skills that sometimes need to brought in from other countries and in this global age it is important that key personnel be able to cross borders expeditiously. Corporate Immigration thus refers to the movement of people into a destination country in order to take-up employment as a migrant worker or temporarily as a foreign worker. For the purpose of this discourse we will be looking at three ways to [...]
For over a 100 years (1913 –till date), the Nigerian Constitution has been a working document, which outlines the basic structure of Government and also focuses on the rights of individual Nigerian Citizens. We, at IOC LAW realize that an informed citizenry is the first step towards the change we all desire and that is why this week’s edition of IOC Weekly outlines these fundamental rights in easily understandable language. It is our hope that understanding your rights will [...]
Dear Subscriber, You and your partners have finally incorporated a Company and put up a website to actualize the dream project you have been discussing for months. Your partners are great guys some of whom you might have known since secondary school and everything feels great as customers start patronizing your service. Two years down the line the bubble has burst and partners are at daggers drawn over various issues bordering on the management of the Company. This surely is a [...]
“The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” - Shakespeare Businesses start with good ideas and little cash so it is common that entrepreneurs typically do not involve lawyers after business registration. It is also a fairly common perception that lawyers are only necessary when there is trouble rather than when everything is going right. Whilst it might be understandable for businesses to limit their legal costs during the infancy of the business it is however wisdom to work [...]
Dear Entrepreneur, Statistics show that 50% of startup businesses fail within the first five years. A common reason for this trend is the failure of most entrepreneurs to appreciate and implement proven business principles but rather get carried away with the exhilaration of starting or owning a business. A business is beyond just having an idea or identifying an opportunity and the serious entrepreneur should be willing to give what it takes to avoid being part of the failure statistics. [...]
Dear Subscriber, One of the most powerful tools in today's competitive business world is a Joint Venture which essentially is a situation where two or more business entity’s team up for the purpose of expanding business influence and creating a more powerful market presence. They are usually short term business arrangements where parties share responsibility but retain their separate legal identities. Joint ventures (JV) remain an excellent way to boost profits with minimal up-front cost to the business owner. It normally [...]
