Guide to Starting a Business in Mozambique


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 Mozambique. 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.ProcedureTime to CompleteAssociated Costs
1Obtain certification of unique name (certidão de reserva de nome) at the Conservatória do Registo das Entidades Legais (Legal Entities Registrar)1 dayMZM 75
2Open a provisional bank account and obtain a verification of deposit with a commercial bank1 dayno charge or bank commission
3Register with the Legal Enities Registrar of Maputo (Conservatória do Registo das Entidades Legais); request a commercial registry certificate; publish company statutes in the official gazette (Bolhetim da República)3 days to 1 weekMZM 1,635
4Register for taxes and obtain NUIT from Repartição de Finanças1 dayno charge
5Apply for a simplified operational license from the Presidente of Conselho Municipality1 dayMZN 1300
6Declare the beginning of activity at the tax department (Repartição de Finanças)1 dayno charge
* 7Declare the beginning of activity and register job candidates at the provincial employment center1 day, (simultaneous with previous procedure )Each copy of the chart costs 5 Mtcs, assuming 10 workers
* 8Register workers with the social security system1 day, (simultaneous with previous procedure )no charge
* 9Subscribe a workmen’s compensation insurance coverage1 day, (simultaneous with previous procedure )no charge
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
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