Equatorial Guinea

Starting a Business in

Equatorial Guinea

Listed below is a detailed summary of the bureaucratic and legal hurdles an entrepreneur must overcome in order to incorporate and register a new firm, along with their associated time and set-up costs.  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 (GNI).

The information appearing on this page was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 183 economies. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2011.

  • Standardized Company

  • Legal Form: Limited Liability Company (SARL)
  • City: Malabo

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No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Obtain a copy of the criminal records


1 day no charge
2 Notary legalizes company statutes

Although it is not required by law, lawyers prepare company statutes in practice. By law, however, notary publics must legalize the statutes and prepare the public deed. There is one notary in Malabo (island) and one in Bata (mainland).
3-14 days 3-6% of capital
3 Register public deed in the commercial registry

For registration, the entrepreneur must provide the legalized copies of the statutes. By law, the company must use a unique company name, but in practice, they do not verify the name beforehand. The registry simply refuses the application if the name already exists.
2-3 days 3% of capital
4 Open bank account and obtain bank certificate

Legally, the company must deposit the minimum capital before company registration. However, this is not possible in practice because copies of the legalized statutes and the registration certificate are required to open a bank account.
1 day no charge
5 Obtain certificate of solvency

The certificate of solvency is obtained at UNIGES.
2 days XAF 10,000 – 15,000 (stamps)
6 Obtain certificate of fiscal solvency

The certificate of fiscal solvency is obtained at the Ministry of Finance.
2 days XAF 5,000 – 10,000 (stamps)
7 Apply for authorization of establishment by the Prime Minister

The application for authorization of establishment includes an explanatory note on the company’s objectives and its value to society (often elaborated by a lawyer). Depending on the company’s industrial sector, before granting the authorization the Prime Minster may ask the supervising ministries for their opinion on the application. The company must also provide the two certificates of solvencies.
1-12 months XAF 2000 (stamp)
* 8 Apply for tax registration

The documents required to apply for tax registration include a copy of the application for authorization of the establishment approved by the Prime Minister, and the notarized statutes. The fees are paid at the bank into an account of the Public Treasury. After obtaining the Treasury’s confirmation of receipt of payment, the applicant returns to the tax authorities to obtain the tax identification number. To save time, the applicant (or a designated agent) would first visit all agencies (tax administration, labor, social security, etc.) to apply for the respective authorization or document, make all bank payments, and obtain Treasury confirmation. The applicant would then visit all agencies again to obtain the final authorization.
1 day (simultaneous with previous procedure) 1% of capital (tax identification number – NIF) + 1% of capital (minimum fiscal quota) + XAF 2,000 (tax ID number)
* 9 Notify Ministry of Labor of the start of operations

As with tax registration, fees are paid to the Treasury through a private bank. Once operational, the employer pays 1% of salaries to the worker protection fund (Fondo de Proteccion del Trabajador). Employees pays 0.5% of their salary. Although the indicated fees are official fees, fees might be higher in practice.
1 day (simultaneous with previous procedure) XAF 300 (form) + XAF 6,750 (small) - XAF 12,500 (medium-sized)
* 10 Register for social security

The company must register its employees for social security in the first month that the employees receive a salary. Social security payments are 21.5% of salary for the employer and 4.5% for the employee. To register for social security, the company must buy special forms to list all employees (13 to a page).
1 day (simultaneous with previous procedure) XAF 300 per page
* 11 Apply for registration with the Department of Small and Medium-size Companies at the Ministry of Commerce

This annual fee varies by company.
1 day (simultaneous with previous procedure) XAF 100000
* 12 Apply for registration with the Department of Commerce at the Ministry of Commerce

This annual fee varies by company.
1 day (simultaneous with previous procedure) XAF 150000
* 13 Apply for registration with the Minister of Development and Planning (Ministerio de Desarrollo y Planificacion)

The fee varies by company.
1 day (simultaneous with previous procedure) XAF 150000
* 14 Pay fees into treasury’s bank account

All payments to public institutions (ministries, for example), must be made directly to the Treasury’s bank account through a private bank.
1 day (simultaneous with previous procedure) included in procedure 7-12
* 15 Obtain confirmation from Treasury for receipt of payment

See Procedure 13.
3-5 days (simultaneous with previous procedure) no charge
* 16 Obtain tax identification number (NIF)


2 days (simultaneous with previous procedure) included in procedure 7
* 17 Obtain registration number with Ministry of Labor


1 day (simultaneous with previous procedure) included in procedure 8
* 18 Obtain social security number


1 day (simultaneous with previous procedure) included in procedure 9
* 19 Obtain license from Department of Small and Medium-size Enterprises


14 days (simultaneous with previous procedure) included in procedure 10
* 20 Obtain license from Department of Commerce


14 days (simultaneous with previous procedure) included in procedure 11
* 21 Obtain license from Ministry of Development and Planning


14 days (simultaneous with previous procedure) included in procedure 12
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
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