Business in Cameroon

Entrepreneurship in Cameroon covers preparing, starting, operating, expanding, transferring and closing an independent economic activity. Formal businesses operate within OHADA commercial law and national tax, municipal and sector rules. Informal entry is common, especially among micro-enterprises, retailers, service providers, farmers and processors, but informal operation does not replace tax compliance, permits, contracts or other legal duties. The 2023 business census recorded 430,011 units with a fixed or developed location; 367,109 were classified as informal and 62,902 as formal. These figures do not include every mobile or home-based informal activity. A practical starting sequence is to check the market and activity, confirm sector restrictions, choose a legal form, secure a name and business address, prepare the required documents, register through the Centre de Formalités de Création des Entreprises (CFCE) or the competent registry, obtain the RCCM evidence where required, register for a tax identification number (NIU), and complete any CNPS and sector procedures. The CFCE is designed as a one-stop service for several formalities, with a published target of 72 hours, but actual timing can vary by location, file quality and procedure. Published creation fees are not fully consistent: figures include 41,500 FCFA, an additional legal notice of 13,125 FCFA and variable stamp charges, while an APME breakdown lists 21,500 FCFA for the registry and 20,000 FCFA for registration. Confirm the current amount with the responsible CFCE before payment. The entreprenant is a natural person using a simplified activity declaration and normally does not receive an RCCM entry. The status is subject to a turnover ceiling under OHADA and its national application; exceeding the ceiling for two consecutive years triggers entrepreneur obligations from the following year. A commerçant personne physique uses an individual commercial registration. Companies include SARL and SARL unipersonnelle, SAS and SASU, SA, SNC, SCS, GIE and cooperatives. A SARL generally limits liability to contributions and the OHADA portal states a minimum capital of 1,000,000 FCFA. A SAS offers flexible rules, while an SA requires at least 10,000,000 FCFA without a public offering and 100,000,000 FCFA with a public offering. A société de fait or société en participation may exist without full legal personality, but it creates substantial liability and enforcement risks. A company generally needs RCCM registration within one month of creation. The CFCE file can require several copies of statutes, a declaration of conformity, identification documents, a criminal-record extract or declaration, the manager's identification, a localisation document, postal details and telephone information. Requirements can differ by structure and locality. Registering the activity does not automatically authorize regulated operations. Food, health, education, transport, mining, forestry, energy, telecommunications, import and export, environmental activities and municipal operations may require additional approvals from the relevant ministry, municipality or agency. The DGI requires every taxable natural or legal person to obtain a NIU, generally within 15 working days after starting the activity. Typical supporting documents include an identity document or passport, a location plan and bank details. Tax treatment depends on turnover and activity: the impôt libératoire generally applies up to 10,000,000 FCFA, the régime simplifié above 10,000,000 and below 50,000,000 FCFA, and the régime réel from 50,000,000 FCFA. The current tax code and the activity classification control the final result. Duties can include income or corporate taxes, VAT, withholding, patente or other municipal charges, accounting under SYSCOHADA and financial statements or electronic filing where applicable. New businesses may receive a patente exemption for at least one year under current CFCE or APME information, but the conditions and current Finance Law must be checked. Employers must handle CNPS registration, employee declarations and contributions. CNPS information states that employees should be registered no later than eight days after hiring. This concerns business compliance; employment-law questions require a separate assessment. APME can provide formation, structuring, diagnostic, incubation, innovation, market-access and financing-facilitation support through regional offices such as Yaoundé and Douala. Some support and facilitation services are free, while business creation services may be charged. Expansion can involve new partners, a change of legal form, a merger, a split, an asset contribution, a transfer or a GIE or SAS structure. Governance, accounting and publication duties usually increase with size and structure. Investment incentives are separate from ordinary registration: the MINEPAT one-stop framework and the 2013/004 investment law have been subject to reform reporting, including proposed or reported tax credits of up to 75% under the common regime and 80% in a priority development zone. Eligibility, approval, duration, annual controls, sector exclusions and implementation status must be checked before relying on an incentive; general commerce and distribution are excluded from the cited scheme. When financial distress appears, OHADA procedures include prevention, conciliation and règlement préventif before cessation des paiements, followed by judicial reorganisation or liquidation of assets where applicable. Closing an activity also requires more than stopping operations. The owner must address dissolution and liquidation where relevant, RCCM publicity, tax declarations and payment, municipal patente or activity notices, CNPS matters and sector deregistration. The DGI rules cited in the research require taxes linked to a cessation or transfer to become due immediately and a declaration of taxable profits within 30 days. Each authority must be checked separately because one deregistration does not automatically remove all other obligations.