UK-trained Nigerian lawyer launches firm to help SMEs succeed

UK-trained Nigerian lawyer and founder 618 Bees Efe Ugboro

A UK-trained Nigerian lawyer has launched a start-up to help Nigerian businesses escape the frustrations of incorporation, operations filing, and taxation.

Efe Ugboro, who has worked as a corporate lawyer in Nigeria and in the UK, before co-founding 618 Bees, says she’s dedicating her career to ‘helping businesses grow’.

“Working as a corporate lawyer, exposed me to the issues many businesses in Africa face,” she said.

“It’s difficult to register a business, difficult to understand all the issues around filing, taxation, and so much more. And most young businesses find themselves crumbling under the frustrations. There are many who just wing it until they realise that they’re in a mess.”

According to Efe, 618 Bees was set up to be the quickest way to get a company started in Nigeria. The company is launching with a focus on Nigeria for now but plans to open up to other African cities where aspiring entrepreneurs are facing similar challenges.

“618 Bees is a technology company using innovative solutions to help small, medium-sized, and big businesses succeed. We are the best way to get a company started, and we don’t stop there,” she added.

From Lekki, in Lagos, Nigeria, Efe is working with an all-female staff of four, pulled from different parts of Nigeria, and from different disciplines, to solve a problem that continues to plague many small and medium scale businesses, using technology.

“Our goal is to register 4,000 new businesses every year, with the plan to pull many informal businesses into the formal sector.

“We want to help everyone, especially young, passionate women succeed,” Efe concluded.