Founding market
Nigeria
Gateway to Africa
Africa's most populous country and one of its largest economies. Our Lagos office works with companies coming into Nigeria, and with Nigerian companies that want partners, suppliers or buyers abroad.
- Local office
- Victoria Island, Lagos
- Time zone
- West Africa Time (UTC+1)
- Trade memberships
- ECOWAS, AfCFTA
- Corridor
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Why Nigeria.
Size first. Then Lagos, its port and two trade memberships.
The largest population in Africa
Nigeria is Africa's most populous country and one of its largest economies. If Africa is in your plan, you will have to decide what to do about Nigeria sooner or later.
Lagos, the commercial centre
Lagos is where Nigeria does business. If you are meeting distributors or buyers, expect to meet them there. Our office is on Victoria Island.
A West African port city
Lagos is also a major West African port city, so for a company shipping goods the port and the commercial centre are the same place.
ECOWAS and AfCFTA
Nigeria is a member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). That is what "Gateway to Africa" means in practice: a company established in Nigeria is inside both.
Nigeria is also hard to enter alone.
Three things make it hard. Each has a practical answer, and that is where a local partner earns its fee.
- Regulation
- Import rules and product registration are detailed. They also change. Before you commit money, we establish which registrations and permits apply to your product.
- Logistics
- Clearing a container at the port and moving it to your customer takes more planning than the voyage, so we plan that route with the clearing agents and hauliers who run it every day.
- Counterparties
- A distributor who does what was agreed is the hardest thing to find. We introduce only companies we have vetted. Then we stay in the relationship.
What we can do in Nigeria today.
Our Lagos office works for two kinds of company. Find yours below. Everything listed is work we take on now, set out under our four capabilities.
If you are entering Nigeria
For manufacturers, technology companies, service firms and investors based outside Nigeria, including companies in Malaysia and elsewhere in ASEAN.
Strategic partnerships
We find and vet the Nigerian company you will work with, whether a distributor, a licensee or a joint-venture partner. We structure the agreement. Once it is signed we stay on to manage the relationship.
Business development and advisory
We test the commercial case before you commit. After that we act as your business development team in Lagos: we build the pipeline and carry deals through to signature.
Market access and trade
We act as your local representative and set up distribution. We also manage the route in: import requirements, product registration, then delivery to your customer.
Technology and digital solutions
We set up and run a distributor portal for you, with order handling and reporting, so you can see what is selling in Nigeria without being there every day.
If you are a Nigerian company
For companies based in Nigeria that want to do business abroad. Malaysia, through the corridor, is where we can act today.
Strategic partnerships
We find the foreign partner you are missing, for example a manufacturer with the technology or a brand you could hold under licence. We look first in Malaysia, where our Kuala Lumpur office can vet candidates in person.
Business development and advisory
We help you prepare your offer for larger buyers in Nigeria and for buyers abroad. Then we sell alongside you. We sit in on the negotiation too.
Market access and trade
We source equipment and inputs direct from manufacturers in Malaysia. Our Kuala Lumpur office vets each one first. In the other direction, we take Nigerian products to Malaysian buyers on written trade terms.
Technology and digital solutions
Where a technology partner's platform already does the job, we license it and adapt it to your operation. Where none does, we build and manage the system your partnership needs.
Legal opinions, tax filings, customs clearance and freight are carried out by licensed Nigerian firms. We select and coordinate them, and your proposal states who is responsible for what.
How to start in Lagos.
Four steps from a first conversation to work under way. You can stop after any of them.
A first conversation
A call or a meeting with the Lagos team. You tell us what you want to achieve. We tell you plainly whether we can help.
A scoping session
A working session to pin down the goal and what stands in the way. By the end we know which of our four capabilities the work needs.
A written proposal
It sets out scope, responsibilities, timeline, fees and how results will be measured. Nothing is left implied.
Start
Work begins at Discover, the first stage of the SBPG Core Method™, with a named lead in Lagos.
Lagos office
HENOVERA Global GroupVictoria Island
Lagos, Nigeria
- lagos@henovera.com
- Time zone
- West Africa Time (UTC+1)
- Meetings
- In person in Lagos, or by video
The other end of the corridor.
Our Kuala Lumpur office deals with Malaysian manufacturers and technology companies. It is the same team as Lagos, so nothing has to be explained twice.
Which conversation is yours?
Mention Nigeria and your message goes to the Lagos team first.