How to hire and compliantly pay a remote contractor from Nigeria or another African country — contracts, payment methods, and tax obligations.
Confirm you need a contractor, not an employee. Contractors handle their own taxes and benefits; employees require full payroll compliance.
Write a contractor agreement covering: scope of work, hourly or project rate, payment schedule, IP ownership (all IP transfers to you), NDA, and termination.
Use a contract template from Lawpadi or a local lawyer for jurisdiction-specific clauses.
Set up payment: Deel is the simplest for cross-border contractors — they sign up on Deel and you fund the contract. For local Nigerian contractors, direct Paystack Transfer or bank transfer works.
Agree on invoicing: the contractor submits a monthly invoice, you pay within 5 business days.
For Nigerian contractors: deduct 5% Withholding Tax on contract payments and remit to FIRS quarterly via the TaxPro Max portal.
Keep records of all contracts, invoices, and payment receipts for 7 years.
Hire and pay anyone, anywhere, compliantly
Legal documents for Nigerian startups
Payroll and HR for Nigerian companies
Multi-country payroll and HR across Africa
How to build and grow a newsletter from Africa — picking your niche, building your list, writing consistently, and eventually monetising.
How to launch on Product Hunt from Africa and use it to get your first wave of international users, press coverage, and investor attention.
How to launch a SaaS product to your first paying customers in Africa — from pricing strategy to payment setup, customer onboarding, and reducing churn.