Tax and Fiscal Incentives for Startups in the Nigeria StartupBill – Part 2
Last week we examined three out of the nine tax and fiscal incentives provided for in the Bill. Today we shall continue and examine three more.
1)Access to export facilities
Section 27 of the Bill provides that the Secretariat shall ensure that a labeled startup who is involved in the exportation of products and services that are eligible under the Export (Incentives and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act is entitled to export incentives and financial assistance from the Export Development Fund, Export Expansion Grant and the Export Adjustment Scheme Fund.
2)Access to Government grants, loans, and facilities
Section 28 of the Bill provides that the secretariat shall ensure that a labeled startup has access to grants and loan facilities administered by the Central Bank Of Nigeria (CBN), the Bank Of Industry, or other bodies statutorily empowered to assist small and medium-scale enterprises and entrepreneurs
3)Credit Guarantee Scheme
Section 29 of the Bill provides that the secretariat shall establish a credit Guarantee Scheme for the development and Growth of a labeled startup under this Act. Subsection (2) provides that this credit guarantee scheme shall have the following objectives;
(a)The provision of accessible financial support to a labeledstartup
(b)Creation of a framework for credit guarantee for a labeled startup
(c)Provision of financial and credit information to startups; and
(d)Provision of financial management capacity-building programs to startups
Subsection 3 provides for the processes that the secretariat must put in place to ensure effective administration of the credit guarantee scheme. The secretariat shall ensure that;
(a)there is a strategy and operational goals which align with the objectives under subsection 2
(b)Criteria for the eligibility and qualification for recipients of funding under the scheme
(c)Criteria for the monitoring and evaluation of projects undertaken under the scheme and the efficiency of the operations of the scheme
(d)Mechanism for transparency, accountability, and reporting on the activities of the scheme: and
(e)Chattels, registered intellectual property, assignment of shares or any other instrument identified in the collateral registry are sufficient collateral.
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