Nigeria: New Ease of Doing Business Legislation
In May 2017, the National Assembly passed two laws critical to the success of our Ease of Doing Business Reforms.

On Tuesday May 30, 2017, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo assented to the two Bills. (By that action the two Bills became Acts of Parliament).

The two Acts are as follows:

The Secured Transactions in Movable Assets Act, 2017 (also known as Collateral Registry Act) (Download link below)

‘The Collateral Registry Act’ ensures that Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria can register their movable assets such as motor vehicles, equipment and accounts receivable in the National Collateral Registry, and use same as collateral for accessing loans. This in turn will increase their chances at accessing financing and tackle one of the major obstacles faced by MSMEs.

2. The Credit Reporting Act, 2017 (Download link below)

Additional Information
The passage of these Acts would facilitate the achievement of the goals of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) set up by President Muhammadu Buhari in July 2016 and chaired by the Vice-President to progressively make Nigeria an easier place for businesses to start and thrive.

With the passage of these Acts, the existing Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Guidelines regulating the operations of the National Collateral Registry and Credit Bureaux have now been replaced by formal legal frameworks.