Before now, two certificates are needed to commence business in Ghana — a Certificate of Incorporation and a Certificate to Commence Business — Now, only one is enough to signify that a business has been duly registered to operate in Ghana — a Certificate of Incorporation. Ghana’s Registrar General Department has announced the abolition of the key requirement that required businesses to obtain some form of pre-commencement of activities certificates prior to their commencement.

Here Is All You Need To Know

• Per the new regime, an application for incorporation shall include a statutory declaration by each proposed director indicating that within the preceding five years, they have not been charged with or convicted of a criminal offence involving fraud or dishonesty, among other things listed in the new law.
• In effect, once the registration process involving a business is complete, a company can proceed to do business in the country.
•  The move, according to the Department, is to simplify the registration process.

“Therefore, there would be no minimum capital requirement before commencement of operations. However, companies with foreign participation would still have to comply with the Ghana Investment Promotion (GIPC) rules on minimum equity requirements”, a report from the RGD added.

• Importantly, it is mandatory that every type of business goes through the process of incorporation which involves the preparation of specific documents including Articles of Incorporation among other things.
• With respect to limited liability companies (LLCs), the main documents used to incorporate are the Articles of Organization.
• Instructively, when opening a business bank account, applying for any type of loan or selling shares to investors, the Certificate of Incorporation is one of the most important documents that a business is required, to provide as the document evidences that the company is properly set up.
• This requirement further specifies that the business is a legal entity captured on the public register of companies.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer.
He could be contacted at udohrapulu@gmail.com