If you are like many people who know how important it is to do business in Africa right now, you have the idea and do not know where to start. Maybe you want to export, farm there, or sell something there. In this article we recognize that Africa is a huge Continent, so we'll take a closer look at individual countries. We start with how to establish a business in Ghana. The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre Act (GIPC) outlines the fundamental requirements of Non-Ghanaians starting a business in Ghana.

Doing business in Ghana is actually not as hard as it may seem at first. The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre Act  (GIPC) outlines the fundamentals for Non-Ghanaians starting a business.

First, like many countries around the world, if you are going to do business in a different country - the country's respective governments expect you to have a certain amount of money to invest in licenses. These are not funds that you have to have for the actual startup, but for the fees themselves. If you are a citizen, either in Ghana or have some dual citizenship you do not have to meet all of the requirements. If you're not of Ghanaian descent, and you do joint Venture with a Ghanaian citizen you must contribute $200,000 for the registration in Ghana. If you just want to have an office there, but register in a  different place, you must pay GIPC fees of $11,000o to the stated capital of the company and the Ghanaian citizen you're partnered with must have at least 10% ownership. If you are not a Ghanaian citizen you must have a stated total capital of $500,000. Once the venture begins you must incorporate and register with the GIPC. If what you decide is simply to have a trading enterprise for selling imported goods and services, you will need 1million in capital. 

There are some exceptions if you're a little shy of half a million. If you're exporting, manufacturing, or investing in someone else's company but you are not in management you do not need the minimum capital. If you are interested in ideas you can think about all of the things that are happening in the world, like online shops that have delivery services for food or clothing, auto parts are a great commodity to sell, real estate is still open, 

So, as it is for any other company after you pay the fees, you will need a TIN number TIN. This number will be used to register the corporate forms through the Registrar which are sent to the Ghana Revenue Authorities and takes about 2 days. The name will also be checked, and you will receive your incorporation certificate. The application - here, it will take about 28 days. After the application clears - you will be required to have an Operating Permit and Business Insurance. After that, your company will need a bank account. To open your doors, you'll need to have established the company regulations, certificate of incorporation and the business certificate to commence business along with the signatures of all authorized company representatives. Some lending banks may conduct a physical inspection. For employees, you will need to apply with the social security agency and have similar documentation.

If you need further assistance in getting started we have resources and people that we can connect you to. If you have agreements that you would like to have reviewed or questions and bout compliance as you embark on this journey, please know that we are here to help you navigate the waters!