Register a company in Côte d'Ivoire

CEPICI's documents allow for a representative: the Formulaire unique can be signed by the gérant or by a mandataire, and a legalised power of attorney covers collecting the file. What the documents do not say is whether founders must ever appear in person, or whether E-Entreprise accepts non-resident users directly, so we confirm the route for your file before you sign anything. The paper still has to reach Abidjan. The original statutes signed by the partners, two original DSVs, the lease and any minutes are registered and stamped at the Guichet Unique before the file goes online.

Registration starts from $2,400. Official CEPICI and registry fees and a legal address, if you need ours, are quoted separately. With an EMI or online bank account, from $4,300. On CEPICI's figures, the official fees for an SARL come to XOF 15,000 overall when the lease is already registered; otherwise registering the lease adds 2.5% of the rent for the whole lease period, plus XOF 500 a page.

At the Guichet Unique, 24 hours: that is CEPICI's official time, for a complete file. One with a document missing is rejected. The calendar is set earlier, by the name reservation, the statutes and DSVs signed in the original, French translations of any papers in another language and the stamping of the originals. How long those take depends on where your documents start from, so our quote gives the timing for your file.

CEPICI says no. It lists the lifting of the XOF 1,000,000 SARL minimum among its reforms, and Ordonnance 2014-161 leaves the amount to the partners. They declare it in two original DSVs, which they sign themselves; a notary is optional. The document list for this route asks for no bank certificate, but we settle with you where the capital is paid in before the DSV is signed. An SA is different: at least XOF 10,000,000, or XOF 100,000,000 if it raises money from the public.

Corporate tax is 25% (30% for telecom, IT and communication), subject to a minimum tax of 0.5% of turnover with a floor of XOF 3 million and a cap of XOF 35 million. VAT is 18%. Dividends carry 15% withholding (10% under several treaties), interest 18%, and service fees paid to foreign companies an effective 20%. For staff, the employer pays a 2.8% payroll tax on local employees and 12% on expatriates, plus CNPS contributions such as 7.7% for retirement and 5.75% for family allowances. The patente adds 0.5% of turnover, at least XOF 300,000, plus 18.5% of the premises' rental value. With a 31 December year-end, the return is due by 30 May, or 30 June for companies subject to audit.

In the $4,300 package we open a business account with an EMI or online bank remotely and handle the KYC file and compliance onboarding; a local bank account is available on request and quoted separately. Exchange rules are the BCEAO's and are common to the UMOA states. They include 15 instructions dated 1 August 2025, one of them on non-residents' foreign-currency accounts, and we check your account route against them before opening. Under the Investment Code, access to foreign currency is not limited, and investment-related transfers are allowed subject to tax compliance, with exceptions such as currency-transfer rules and the enforcement of judgments.

Nothing in CEPICI's lists stops it. They set no nationality or residence condition for the gérant, and article 31 of the Investment Code guarantees investors a free choice of gérant. The papers are short: an ID copy (a passport is accepted), a birth extract if the ID does not show parentage, and a criminal record under three months old. If the gérant was born outside the area of the Abidjan commercial court, a sworn statement goes in at filing and the extract follows within 75 days of registration. Living and working in Côte d'Ivoire is a separate question of residence and work permission, which we confirm before you commit.

Côte d'Ivoire suits a company that will actually operate there, because the fixed costs assume one. The company must have a seat from the start: a lease, a domiciliation contract, premises you own, or premises lent free with the lender's papers. It owes the minimum tax even in a loss year (0.5% of turnover with a floor of XOF 3 million in PwC's summary; we confirm the regime that applies to you) and the patente of at least XOF 300,000 plus 18.5% of the premises' rental value. Expenses and input VAT count only on FNE electronic invoices. If what you need is a holding with no activity in the country, we will say so and suggest a better fit.

Only if the project fits it. The Code is a set of tax and customs incentives, amended in September 2024 by Ordonnance 2024-857. PwC describes a declaration regime with no minimum investment and an approval regime from XOF 200 million, or XOF 50 million for SMEs, with benefits lasting 5, 10 or 15 years depending on the zone; the approval committee decides within 21 days. Commerce, banking and finance, the liberal professions and used-vehicle imports are among the excluded sectors, and beneficiaries must be under the real tax regime. Separately, the 2026 Finance Law exempts approved digital start-ups outside a biotech and ICT free zone from profit tax for three years.

For most foreign founders, the SARL: one partner is enough, and it needs neither a notary nor a minimum capital. For the SA and SAS, CEPICI's document lists cover only notarised deeds, and an SA needs at least XOF 10,000,000 of capital and a statutory auditor. A foreign company can instead register a branch (succursale) with its own statutes, its registry extract and two originals of the decision to open the branch, or open a representative office.