Africa expansion
Your regulatory infrastructure partner for Africa and emerging markets.
We work across Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa. Entering Nigeria means CBN licensing categories that have no direct equivalent abroad, NDPA registration, and AML/CFT expectations set by the NFIU. Legum translates it, and builds the compliance programme that lets you operate in it.
Serving Nigeria: CBN payment and MFB licensing, SEC digital asset registration, NDPA compliance, and AML/CFT programmes that survive an NFIU review.
The gap we close
A UK or US programme does not transfer directly.
A compliance programme built for the UK, the US, or the EU does not transfer directly to Nigeria. The regulators are different, the licensing categories are different, and the AML and data protection expectations, while related, are not identical. International teams that assume otherwise usually find out at the worst possible moment: during sponsor-bank onboarding, during investor due diligence, or after a launch that a regulator flags.
What we do
Entry, mapping, and the full local function.
- 01
Africa Market Entry Assessment
What applies to your specific business, before you commit resources to it.
- 02
Nigeria Regulatory Mapping
A detailed map of CBN, SEC Nigeria, NDPC, NFIU obligations for your model.
- 03
Multi-country Regulatory Mapping
The same, across Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa, in whichever combination you are evaluating.
- 04
Licensing Strategy
A staged plan for the licences your business needs, and the order to pursue them in.
- 05
AML/KYC Setup
Controls built to Nigerian and regional standards from the start, not retrofitted later.
- 06
Data Protection Assessment
Compliance with the Nigeria Data Protection Act for businesses processing Nigerian personal data.
- 07
Local Compliance Programme
The full function, designed and documented, ready to operate.
Who this is for
International teams with Africa on the roadmap.
UK, US, EU, and Canadian companies with African expansion in a fundraise, a first product launch in Nigeria, a sponsor-bank relationship to establish, or a due diligence gap an investor has flagged.
All international engagements are priced and invoiced in USD.
Do you work with companies that have not decided which African market to enter yet?
Yes. The Market Entry Assessment is designed for exactly that stage.
Can you support a licence application directly with a regulator?
Where that requires licensed legal representation, we will identify local counsel and work alongside them. See our disclaimer below.
Legum provides regulatory and compliance advisory services. Where a matter requires licensed legal representation, we will say so clearly before work begins.