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 Cape Verde. 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 company name and reserve the proposed name | 1 day | CVE 600 |
| 2 | Deposit the legally required initial capital in a bank and obtain deposit evidence | 1 day | no charge |
| 3 | Registration with the commercial registry | 1 day | CVE 10,000 (registration fee) + CVE 1,000 (chamber of commerce fee) |
| 4 | Obtain municipal license | 8 days | CVE 30000 |
| * 5 | Register workers with the Social Security Office | 1 day, simultaneous with previous procedure | no charge |
| * 6 | Register workers with accident insurance at insurance company | 1 day, simultaneous with previous procedure | no charge |
| * 7 | Register workers with labor inspectorate | 1 day, simultaneous with previous procedure | no charge |
| * 8 | Obtain and legalize the special company books | 3 days, simultaneous with previous procedure | CVE 2000 |