The Nigeria Startup Bill 2022 which was signed into law on October 19 2022 provides for what qualifies a company to register and obtain startup status.
According to The Act, a company must obtain a certificate known as the startup label before it can attain the startup status.
The Act mandated the establishment of a Startup Support and Engagement Portal to facilitate the issuance of the startup label.
It also highlights the requirements for a company to obtain a startup label as follows:
- The company must be a registered limited liability
- The company must have been in existence for not more than ten years from the date of incorporation amongst other requirements.
Perks of registering on the portal include:
- Access to a special seed fund created under the Act. The Act has a Startup Investment Seed Fund, which it has designated for startups alone
- provision of finance and tech relief for startups. This means increased access to funding that will grow the startup ecosystem.
- leverage of grants and loans
- tax reliefs and pioneer status incentives under the Act for labeled companies
Companies issued with a startup label have obligations under the bill and failure to comply with these obligations can revoke their startup label.
How to Create Your Profile and Apply For Label
1.Visit the portal website https://portal.startup.gov.ng
2. Log in to your dashboard using your login details.
Note that you can only have login details if you have gone through the registration process before.
3. Edit and complete your profile by filing in the following information ;
- Profile picture
- Name of featured product
- Date started
- Description
- Link
4. The following documents are also required
- Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association
- Company Profile Documents / Link
- Pitch Deck
- CAC Certificate
5. Click on ‘Apply for Label’ tab
If you have not registered your company before, simply visit the website, scroll down to the status label applicable to your company and click on the get “get started “ tab.
Available status are
- Startups
- Angel Investors
- Venture Capitalists and
- Accelerators, Innovation Hubs & Incubators