Formal registration of companies has many immediate benefits for the companies and for business owners and employees. Legal entities can outlive their founders. Resources are pooled as several shareholders join forces to start a company. Formally registered companies have access to services and institutions from courts to banks as well as to new markets. And their employees can benefit from protections provided by the law. An additional benefit comes with limited liability companies. These limit the financial liability of company owners to their investments, so personal assets of the owners are not put at risk. Where governments make registration easy, more entrepreneurs start businesses in the formal sector, creating more good jobs and generating more revenue for the government.
Below is a detailed summary of the bureaucratic and legal hurdles faced by entrepreneurs wishing to incorporate and register a new firm in Guinea-Bissau. It examines the procedures, time and cost involved in launching a commercial or industrial firm with up to 50 employees and start-up capital of 10 times the economy's per-capita gross national income.
This information was collected from World Bank: Doing Business
| No. | Procedure | Time to Complete | Associated Costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Search for a company name and reserve the proposed name (certidão negativa de denominação social) | 1 day | included in Procedure 6 |
| 2 | Open a bank account and deposit the minimum capital | 1 day | no charge |
| 3 | Submit company statutes to obtain the public deed (Escritura Pública) at CFE | 1 day | included in Procedure 7 |
| 4 | Register company and obtain registration certificate (Certidao de Matricula) from the registrar at CFE | 1 day | included in Procedure 6 |
| 5 | Obtain tax number (NIF) from tax office representative at CFE | 1 day | no charge |
| 6 | Pay fees at cashier located at CFE | 1 day | FCFA 7,098 for name certificate (Certidao Negativa) + FCFA 21,780 for public deed (Escritura Publica) + FCFA 3,867 for notary certificate (Certidao Notarial) + FCFA 47,212 for registration certificate (Certidao de Matricula) + FCFA 35,000 for publication (Publicaçao) + FCFA 10,000 for Declaration of Activities to Municipal Chamber of Commerce |
| 7 | Unblock bank account | 1 day | no charge |
| 8 | Register as an employer with the Ministry of Labor | 1 day | no charge |
| 9 | Register as an employer with Social Security (Instituto National de Providencia Social) | 1 day | no charge |