Dear Reader,
Welcome to Citified, the monthly newsletter by the Lagos Urban Development Initiative. We are passionate about how we as citizens can live in a Lagos we love, and to make this happen we must ensure that we have a voice when decisions are being made about our communities, our neighborhoods, and our city.
This month we are focusing on SMEs and the business environment they operate in. Lagos, and Nigeria in a broader sense, is thought of as a place where the ease of doing business is not at a sufficient level to attract the necessary investments it needs for growth. We are going to share a few pointers that show why this is, and the realities small and medium-sized businesses face in the country.
Yours,
Olamide Udoma-Ejorh
Executive Director
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Foreign Investors are Wary of Nigeria
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"Regulators which continually harass firms will neither aid the creation or preservation of economic value. Furthermore, a country which espouses free market values and aims to be an attractive destination for foreign business and capital should not operate as Nigeria does."
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SMEs are Abandoning the Public Power Grid for Their Own Solutions
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"Nigerians and their businesses spend almost $14bn (N5tn) annually on an inefficient generation that is expensive (N140/kWh or more), of poor quality, noisy, and polluting."
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The Proposed Regulation of the Bike-Hailing Industry in Lagos sheds Light on a Hostile Environment
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"Under the proposed regulation, each startup will pay annual licensing fees of 25 million naira ($70,000) per 1,000 bikes and then 30,000 naira ($83) per bike after the first set of 1,000. The startups will also still be expected to pay annual taxes on revenue."
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The Government Must Look in the Mirror before Taking More Missteps
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"High borrowing costs, multiple taxation, currency volatility, infrastructure shortfalls, red tape, and pervasive corruption all make doing business in Nigeria exceptionally difficult."
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Nigeria Must Take These Measures
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"President Buhari needs a scalable SME strategy that finds jobs for over 39 million under/unemployed Nigerians, a bulk of whom are young people."
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Lagos Urban Development Initiative is currently undertaking four projects within Lagos centered around Mobility, Public Spaces, Climate Resilience, and Livability. In case you are new, here they are.
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Lagos Urban Network Events
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Join us for our third Bridge Series talk of the year! Episode 3 is themed "A Place for Informality" and we are going to question the role of the informal economy in Lagos, and the duty of the government in its integration and regulation. Food and refreshments are always served.
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You Need to Read These
Ethiopia planted 350 million trees to fight deforestation and the climate crisis [The New York Times]
Actively inclusive design in public space lays a foundation for the kind of civic life that builds a sense of attachment and belonging for everyone [PPS]
Cities are under pressure. Here are some radical ideas to help them change [The City Fix]
Stop victimizing the urban poor [Stears Business]
Copenhagen is gunning to be the carbon-neutral capital of the world. Here's how [Fast Company]
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Tell your friends about citified! Forward this newsletter to them, and ask them to subscribe. Send comments, feedback, news, and more to mobolaji@lagosurbannetwork.com
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