How Many Days Do It Take To Start A Business In Zimbabwe?

By The Standard and Newsday | Feb. 1, 2022 | 3 Min read

In the ease of starting a business in Zimbabwe, the country ranks 167. The score of starting a business in Zimbabwe is 72 out of 100. Starting a business requires preregistration of the business that involves processes like verification and reservation of the name of the business. The post-registration of the business requires social security registration and a company seal. Starting a business requires 27 days in Zimbabwe. The 27 days does not include the time that a business owner might require to gather information to fill out the form. Starting a business requires nine steps and a few of these steps can take place simultaneously too. The steps required for starting a business in Zimbabwe are listed below.

1. Registration of the company name

The name of the company needs to be registered with the Chief Registrar of Companies and it requires approximately five days. All the forms that are required to reserve the company name are available online and all the documents can be physically lodged and online submission is possible too. It is recommended that the name of the company depicts the business that it is doing. For instance, just by hearing the name of Delhivery and GATI, one can identify these businesses as logistic businesses.

2. Filing of memorandum and articles of association

When the company is incorporated, the Registrar of Companies is supposed to be notified about the directors and secretaries of the company and the same filing of memorandum and articles of association needs to be done with the Registrar of Companies. The entire process of filing takes about 12 days.

3. Open a bank account

It requires one day to open a bank account. The founders of the business require to open a bank account with the Tax Authorities before the registration of the company takes place. A bank account can be opened without any charge.

4. Registration with tax authorities

After a company is formed, the company needs to be registered with the regional Zimbabwe Revenue Authority Office. For the purpose of the Collector’s record, it is important to have a copy of the certificate of incorporation of the company. In addition to that, articles of association, memorandum and certified copies of identification are required too. This procedure does not require any charge. Also, one needs to register with the tax authorities for the purpose of PAYE, VAT and income tax and the entire procedure requires four days.

5. Registration with National Social Security Authority

This procedure requires one day and it can be carried out simultaneously with the previous procedure. Registration with the National Social Security Authority is required for the purpose of pension and it further needs to be done for claiming Accident Prevention and Compensation schemes. This procedure can be completed free of charge.

6. Registration with Manpower Development Fund

This procedure again requires one day and it can be carried out simultaneously with the procedure of registration with tax authorities. The employers of the company need to register and then further contribute 1% of the wage bill to the Manpower Development Fund which is state-run.

7. License Application Notice needs to be collected

The license application notice needs to be collected from the City Health Department and it requires one day to be completed and again it can be done simultaneously while the company does the registration with tax authorities. The application for License Application Notice can be downloaded online.

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8. Issuance of a new license to Licensing Office

After completing the previous seven steps, the business owner needs to submit an application form for the issuance of new licenses to the Licensing Office. The business owner needs to submit one application form. On the type of business that the business owner is trying to establish, one might also need to submit a report for the same to Harare Town Planner. This entire procedure requires five days and it also might need a charge of USD 471.

9. Inspection by Licensing Officers

The last and final step involves inspection by the licensing officers. In this procedure, the officers inspect the site of the company and check whether the workplace chosen by the business owners is suitable for the intended use of the business. This step can be completed in one day and can simultaneously take place while the business owner works with the issuance of a new license to the Licensing Office.