The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) is a government agency established under GIPC Act 865, 2013 to promote, coordinate and facilitate investment in all sectors of the Ghanaian economy.
The functions of the GIPC cover investment advisory services, joint venture search, identification of specific projects for investment promotion, grant of investment incentives and provision of investor support services, registration of technology transfer agreements and negotiation of bilateral investment treaties.
According to section 24 of the GIPC Act, all businesses with foreign participation are required to register with the GIPC
The first step in starting a business in Ghana is to legally register the business entity at the Registrar General’s Department (RGD). With the automation at the Registrar General’s Department (RGD), business registration has become fairly easy.
All business registration forms are downloadable at http://rgd.gov.gh/index.php/forms/ or on-sale at GHS 10.00 at the RGD. For a detailed guideline on registering your company in Ghana check; Registering a Business in Ghana
In choosing your business activities during company registration, take note as a foreigner that, the following business activities are reserved for Ghanaians according to the laws of Ghana.
The company registration process takes about 2 weeks, after which the following documents will be issued by the Registrar, confirming the legal status of the company.
The investment law of Ghana stipulates minimum foreign equity contribution for all foreigners seeking to do business in Ghana. The minimum foreign equity can be in the form of cash or in-kind (capital goods, equipment, machinery etc.). Below are various categories of minimum capital requirements;
This option requires the company to open foreign exchange and local currency corporate bank accounts with any of the licensed banks in Ghana. After the account is set-up the foreign shareholders are to remit the required minimum equity into their foreign currency account. The minimum foreign equity that has been transferred must be converted into local currency and then request for a Bank of Ghana Equity confirmation letter from their bankers. The Bank of Ghana Equity confirmation letter is the official proof of cash equity investment in Ghana, which must be obtained by all companies seeking to register their businesses with the GIPC if their equity is cash. The company receives their copy of the Bank of Ghana Equity confirmation letter through their own bankers for onward submission to GIPC for the registration process to commence.
After the company has been registered in Ghana, the foreign shareholders can ship capital goods in the form of raw materials, machinery, equipment, motor vehicles, stock of goods to be sold, office items etc. into Ghana in the name of the incorporated company that seeks to register with GIPC. These goods upon arrival in Ghana, must be cleared from the ports and the original import declaration documents presented to GIPC as proof of equity investment. The original import declaration documents received from the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) will show relevant information pertaining to name of consignee, value of imported goods, description of items, declaration number, date, exchange rate etc. which will enable the GIPC record and capture the capital goods as equity contribution in favour of the foreign shareholders of the business.
The following activities are however exempted from the minimum capital requirement;
The first is to register the business with the Registrar General’s Department and subsequently meet the minimum equity requirement in line with the GIPC Act 865 either by cash or in-kind. Once this is done, the 3rd step is to submit the following documents to GIPC for investor registration.
These are the applicable registration fees for the various categories of businesses
Investment incentives include;
Enterprises that are fully Ghanaian owned are eligible to access all the investment incentives and benefits.
Registration with the GIPC is easy!
The process takes 5 workings days once all documentation is in order and the registration fee dully paid.
We will be happy to know of your experience regarding the GIPC registration.