Broadcasting
What you need to know about navigating contract challenges in 2024
By Kehinde Ogundare, Country Manager, Zoho Nigeria
There is absolutely no doubt that collaboration is crucial to business success in today’s world. That obviously applies to work done within organisations. However, effective collaboration between different organisations can be incredibly beneficial, too. In fact, some of the biggest brands in the world have seen significant marketing and revenue boosts through innovative collaborations with other brands.
One thing that’s common across successful collaborations is a detailed, watertight contract. Such contracts not only ensure both parties understand and stick to their particular roles, but also play an important role from a legal and regulatory compliance perspective. Thanks to last year’s passing of the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023—which aims to protect the personal data of individuals and organisations—the latter now becomes ever more critical.
With that in mind, how can Nigerian businesses build effective collaborations in 2024 while navigating contracting challenges? Furthermore, how can they do so in a way that ensures they’re fully compliant with the law and regulators?
The benefits of brand collaboration
A 2021 study found 71% of consumers enjoy co-branding partnerships. There are also significant marketing and awareness benefits to successful collaborations. One study, for example, found brand collaborations can be up to 25 times less expensive than a dedicated digital advertising campaign. Brand collaborations can also be incredibly useful in helping brands attract new customers, generate publicity, and enter new markets. They are, in other words, something businesses of all sizes can benefit from and should explore in 2024.
Dotting the “I’s” and crossing the “T’s”
As with any relationship, however, things can go wrong if both parties aren’t absolutely clear on their roles and responsibilities, which is what makes contracting so important. In some cases, contract negotiations can take a long time and get expensive if the two companies involved rely on outside legal counsel to finalise the agreement.
Fortunately, with the right technology in place, the entire process can be a lot simpler and streamlined. Of course, not all contracting software are created equal. Ideally, businesses should look to use contracting software that streamlines the contracting process from authoring and approvals to negotiations, execution, and post-execution management.
Good contracting software can also help an organisation create risk-proof contracts, using templates that cover everything from non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to master service agreements (MSAs). This additionally helps ensure there is consistency across all contracts. If that contracting software fits into a well-designed productivity suite, its data can also feed into the overview that allows organisations to check on things such as milestones, clauses, obligations, counterparties, performance, and other general contract attributes.
Regulatory wrangles
Another essential attribute to look for in contracting software is whether they help organisations comply with all the laws and regulations in any geography they operate in. After all, if the clauses contained within a contract don’t meet legal and regulator compliance, it’s effectively worthless. There are further compliance dangers if there isn’t an accurate view of all versions of a contract or if roles and permissions aren’t clearly defined.
In Nigeria, that kind of compliance is only going to become more important. With the passing of the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 in June last year, organisations will have to do everything in their power to protect consumers’ and other businesses’ information. Having oversight and control of the entire contracting process makes that much simpler.
Good contracts benefit everyone
Ultimately, for Nigerian businesses to see the full benefit of collaborations, they must ensure their contracting is watertight and fully compliant. For that to happen, they must choose the right contracting software.
Broadcasting Organization of Nigeria (BON) has established six committees to help strengthen and modernize the country’s broadcasting industry.
The committees will focus on content creation, skills development, digital transformation, sustainability, policy and commercial opportunities
The initiative aims to support industry growth and improve collaboration between broadcasters, regulators and media experts
The official launch recently, was led by Tony Akiotu, president, BON and attended by media professionals, program directors, former journalists and heads of specialized media organizations.
The event brought together several prominent figures in Nigeria’s media industry, including veteran broadcaster and trainer Bimbo Oloyede, Tony Uyah of M4S TV, Kingsley Uranta of Channels Television, Ismael Sani of Platinum TV and Ibrahim Shehu of Trust TV.
Together, they are expected to help drive innovation and support the growth of Nigeria’s broadcasting sector.
According to Akiotu, the committees are intended both to help shape industry policy and to provide a forum for dialogue between BON and broadcasting experts.
Akiotu said the ad hoc committees were intended to strengthen BON’s work and ensure that the umbrella body for Nigeria’s broadcasters played a more direct and meaningful role in developing the country’s broadcasting sector.
The six committees reflect the sector’s main priorities. The first focuses on collaboration and innovation to promote content creation.
The second is dedicated to training and talent development, while the third focuses on industry sustainability by improving the sector’s long-term financial viability.
A fourth committee will focus on digital transformation and work with the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) on regulatory issues.
The remaining two committees will oversee public policy advocacy and the development of sports and commercial rights to help broadcasters increase revenue and attract more investment. Together, the committees are expected to guide BON’s efforts to modernize and strengthen Nigeria’s broadcasting industry.
The committees, chaired by members of BON’s General Assembly and supported by the organization’s Secretariat, have an initial 12-month mandate that may be renewed if necessary.
They are required to submit a progress report within three months and implement approved recommendations within the following six months.
The arrangement is intended to ensure close oversight and the timely implementation of their work.
Akiotu also reminded committee members that Nigeria pioneered television broadcasting in Africa and urged them to carry out their work with greater effectiveness and efficiency.
Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) says it is investigating about 34 tertiary institutions over allegations that they failed to refund students whose tuition fees were paid twice under the Federal Government’s student loan scheme.
The Managing Director of NELFUND, Mr Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed this during an interview on Arise Television.
Sawyerr said the agency had deployed a five-member investigative team, including operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and internal auditors, to examine the allegations.
According to him, the investigation was prompted by numerous complaints received from affected students.
“As of right now, there are 34 institutions that we are looking at closely with respect to this issue,” he said.
Sawyerr explained that the double payment issue arose because President Bola Tinubu directed that the student loan scheme commence in the middle of an academic session instead of at the beginning.
He said the decision compelled many students to pay their tuition fees to meet registration deadlines while awaiting approval of their loan applications.
“What happened is that a lot of schools got double payment; some from the students and some from us,” he said.
“The refund process is entirely out of our hands. It is the recipient of the double payments that is obliged to make refunds to the students.”
The NELFUND boss noted that many students had borrowed money from family members, friends and other sources to pay their tuition with the expectation of receiving refunds once the loans were disbursed.
He said while some institutions had promptly refunded affected students, others had failed to do so.
“Some have been very good at this. Others haven’t been so good at it,” Sawyerr said.
“I reserve judgement on the intentionality around it because, for some of them, they just didn’t have the process to make refunds.”
Sawyerr disclosed that NELFUND was exploring a tokenised payment system that would enable students to authorise tuition payments directly to their institutions, thereby reducing the likelihood of duplicate payments.
He said the agency deliberately chose not to disburse tuition loans directly to students to minimise the risk of fund diversion.
“Paying the funds to the students could really lead to the temptation for them to divert and do other things,” he said.
The managing director, however, acknowledged that NELFUND lacked the statutory powers to compel institutions to refund students or prosecute officials found culpable.
He added that many frustrated students had submitted complaints not only to NELFUND but also to anti-corruption agencies, including the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
Sawyerr also expressed concern over increases in tuition fees by some institutions following the introduction of the student loan scheme.
He said NELFUND had declined to pay institutions that increased their tuition fees beyond acceptable levels.
“Some schools, because they get paid easily, started to put up their fees. We refused, point blank, to pay institutions who had hiked their fees beyond a certain level,” he said.
He reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to investigating every reported irregularity and strengthening the implementation of the student loan programme through continuous monitoring and internal reviews.
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