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The Entrepreneur and his Legal

Environment
Who is an Entrepreneur?
What are the tools an entrepreneur utilizes
in the course of his entrepreneurial
ventures?
What is the essence of the legal
environment to an entrepreneur?
An entrepreneur needs to be consistently
aware of the dynamics and dimensions of
the legal environment with respect to his
business activities.

The Legal Essence of


Entrepreneurship
It is trite, that an entrepreneur ventures into business with a
view to generate or produce a desired level of return on
investment.
Thus, the need to generate some measure of profit is very
central to a typical entrepreneurial venture.
It is the level commitment or investment by the entrepreneur
that drives him to safeguard or protect his business interests.
( Dangote Group, Globacom Ltd, Facebook, Microsoft, etc)
In the absence of protection or due regulation of the venture,
the essence will be eroded over time and may lead to the
demise of the venture. Piracy is a classic representation of
an act that erodes the essence of entrepreneurship

Laws and the Entrepreneur

CAMA 2004 (Companies and Allied Matters Act)


Labour Act, 1974
Relevant Laws on Copyright, Patents, Trademarks and Designs
The laws are geared towards ensuring due compliance with
required standards bearing in mind that entrepreneurial
activities have varying degrees of impact on their
environment. Appropriate civil and criminal liabilities may
follow in cases of non compliance.
Laws and Regulations vary across jurisdictions and it is
necessary to understand the substance and context of legal
framework in relation to an a given business venture.
Entrepreneurs must consistently balance the need for profit
generation with the relevant laws that regulate their
operations or activities

A Global Entrepreneur
The key for an entrepreneur to tap into the global market, is
to develop a renewed awareness about his line of venture or
business. The market space is ever evolving and in order to
stay ahead, gaining awareness about the relevant
opportunities is a vital tool that must be deployed
( Facebook and Apple).
Access to relevant information in a bid to constantly
reposition the business is fundamental to gaining entry to
international market. (China, India and Brazil are attracting
a lot of trade in recent times). Nigeria is also achieving a
level of growth in the telecommunications sector.
Due diligence in various respects (financial, legal,
regulatory, and political) are critical issues that need to be
evaluated in the drive to take a venture global.

Pertinent Questions for an Entrepreneur


What is the present status of the venture? (sole,
partnership, joint venture or corporation)
Is there a viable basis to grow the venture over a
specific time frame?
Global vs. Domestic? The ultimate choice is yours to
make based on the requisite information?
Does it make sense to continue, sell or even
discontinue the venture? The outcomes may indeed
vary across entrepreneurs but relevant advise will
help in this regard?
What are the risks in the venture and what measures
are available to mitigate such risks over time?

Associated Matters
Venture Capital: Human capital is the
greatest asset of any venture. People are
responsible for constantly engineering the
business venture towards it ultimate goal
of generating profit or returns over a period
of time. They coordinate other relevant
venture capital options such as money,
stocks, investments and infrastructure
(technology) in order to achieved specific
objects or goals of the business.

Contract
A Contract refers to the legal and
diverse process by which individuals
create value amongst themselves
which has the propensity to trigger
legal consequences where a party
fails to fulfil obligations that are
envisaged by the contract. A contract
can manifest in various commercial
settings so that the obligations of the
parties will vary depending on the

Liability
The term liability refers to the legal
consequences that are associated with a
given set obligations when a breach or
non performance of those obligations has
occurred. The law seeks to preserve the
sanctity of contracts hence parties are
expected to perform the obligations they
have consented to. There could be civil or
criminal liability depending on the
circumstances of each case.

Employment
Employment refers to the contractual
relationship that exists between the
employer and the employee, subject
to specific terms and conditions
which is geared towards regulating
the interactions between the
respective parties in the workplace.
This relationship could manifest in
different forms, but it is usually
classified as contact for services or

Intellectual Property
The term intellectual property refers to the
bundle of legal rights that resides or is
vested in the originator or author of a
specific work. In specific terms, intellectual
property captures issues of copyright,
patents and designs depending on the
nature of the work in issue. There are
specific laws that stipulate how intellectual
property issues are determined and this
may vary across jurisdictions.

Public Offer
A public offer in principle refers to a proposition
flowing from a company to the public at large to
buy a specific amount of its authorised
shareholding at a given price. A company, subject
to regulatory approval would usually adopt this
process to raise capital towards specific objectives
or needs. It would also usually be accompanied by
a prospectus, a document which captures essential
information that would aid the proposed allotee to
make an informed decision about the offer made
by the company. A public offer is by law restricted
to public limited liability companies.

Reorganization
Reorganization of a business refers to the diverse
circumstances that could trigger or cause a change
in the structure of a business to varying degrees.
In the commercial context, such could manifest in
terms of mergers, acquisitions and dissolutions
depending on the agreements that have been
concluded amongst the concerned parties in each
case. There are guidelines or procedures stipulated
by law regulating this process bearing in mind that
the outcomes usually have some measure of
impact on the employers, employees and the
society at large.

Conclusion
Comments
Questions

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