Business in Mali

Mali has both informal and formal business activity. Informal activity is widespread, but informal status does not automatically remove tax, safety, sector or licensing obligations. Formalization can improve legal identity, access to contracts and public or private support, while creating record-keeping, tax, accounting and permit duties. API-Mali, an establishment under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, provides the main entry point through its Guichet Unique. The service brings together procedures involving the commercial court, the tax administration, INPS, urban planning, ANPE and other bodies. API-Mali also has evidenced branches in Kayes, Ségou, Sikasso and Mopti. The official target is 72 hours from a complete dossier or notarial deposit, but the real duration depends on the documents, notary work, capital deposit, criminal-record document, publication and any sector authorization. A promoter normally defines the activity, chooses between an entreprise individuelle and an OHADA company, prepares the required declaration or private and notarial statutes, and completes the registration and identification steps. OHADA is the regional legal framework governing business law in member states. Available forms include the entreprise individuelle, GIE, SARL, SA, SNC, SCS, SAS and société en participation. The form affects personal liability, governance, capital, statutory publicity, accounting and continuing compliance. Registration does not automatically provide financing, market access or permission to conduct a regulated activity. The formal file may require identity and address evidence, a residence certificate, a criminal-record document or declaration on honour, a lease, statutes, proof of capital deposit, a notarial act and any professional qualification or sector permit. The registration record identifies the business name, activity, legal form, seat and duration. The RCCM registration, NINA and NIF serve different identification purposes, although official pages use the nomenclature inconsistently. Confirm the applicable NINA national identifier and NIF tax number with API-Mali and the DGI when filing rather than relying on an informal translation. Published administrative indications include a 200 FCFA stamp, 15,000 FCFA for RCCM, 1,000 FCFA for NINA, 7,500 FCFA for an SA through the Guichet Unique, 6,000 FCFA for registration of statutes, 1,500 FCFA per tax-stamp page, 1,250 FCFA for a declaration of subscription and 20,000 FCFA for a legal notice. A published NIF page lists the service as free with a 48-hour indication, subject to an RCCM number, identity document, lease and statutes. These amounts and times should be verified at filing because the dossier, legal form and activity can change the applicable requirements. A natural person may qualify for the simplified Entreprenant regime under OHADA. This regime uses a free activity declaration to the competent greffe or other authorized body instead of RCCM registration. The declaration can require identity, address, activity, identification document, possible matrimonial proof, declaration on honour, residence certificate and any prior authorization. Activity starts after the declaration number is issued. The number and the wording "Entreprenant dispensé d'immatriculation" must appear on invoices, orders, price lists and business correspondence. Changes of activity or place and cessation or radiation declarations are free. The person keeps a daily resource-and-use book, a sales or lodging purchase register where applicable, and records for at least five years. During operation, the business must keep its legal identity and registry information current, file and pay applicable taxes, renew sector authorizations, and update the RCCM for changes, establishments and branches. Companies also have OHADA accounting and financial-information duties. Beneficial-owner declarations arise under Mali Law 2023-049 and Arrêté 2023-4609. The recorded deadline for existing entities was 28 December 2024; an entity that has not completed the filing should clarify its position with the competent authority. A Code des Investissements approval can provide fiscal, customs or administrative incentives when the project and sector meet the applicable conditions, but it is not automatic. Business support is targeted rather than universal. API-Mali offers project assistance, aftercare, training, obstacle escalation, investor matching and finance facilitation. The Women Business Center supports women-led formalization, enterprise structuring, training, financing and market links. APEJ and FNEJ channels can support youth aged 15 to 40 through entrepreneurship training, project finance, guarantees, participatory loans or employment-generating programs, subject to each program's selection and repayment conditions. FACEJ II is active in 2026 for youth micro and small enterprises, including women. These programs do not create a general entitlement to a grant. Formal and informal businesses face different practical constraints. The 2024 World Bank Enterprise Survey for Mali covered formal private establishments with at least five employees and did not represent the micro or informal population. In that sample, 56% were registered when they started and 57% reported competition from informal firms. Access to finance was the largest reported obstacle at 37.8%, followed by electricity at 37.1% and informal-sector practices at 7.2%. For small firms, finance reached 40% and electricity 36%. Internal funds financed 92.2% of investment, while bank finance accounted for 1.3%. Female ownership participation was 11.3%, and women were top managers in 7.9% of surveyed establishments. These figures describe the survey population, not all businesses in Mali. An acquisition or transfer uses OHADA and RCCM procedures. A written transfer should be checked against the business registration, tax and beneficial-owner records, assets, liabilities, contracts and sector permits. A permit or debt does not automatically transfer with the business. The registry and relevant authorities must be updated, and regulated activities may require a new approval. A registered individual who stops operating generally requests radiation within one month; after death, heirs request radiation or a modification within three months. For a company, the liquidator handles the radiation after dissolution and liquidation. Closure does not erase outstanding taxes, contractual obligations or other liabilities.