Investing in Niger

Direct investment under Niger's Code des Investissements commits capital to movable or immovable, tangible or intangible assets, initial establishment costs and working capital for a new or modernized business. Typical activities include agriculture, livestock, processing, manufacturing, renewable energy, mineral processing, gas bottling, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, education, transport, tourism, hotels, printing, publishing, social housing, storage, land and environmental laboratories. ANPIPS identifies energy and hydrocarbons, infrastructure, mines, urban development and property, agriculture and livestock, healthcare and education among its promotion sectors. The Code des Investissements does not replace sector-specific rules. Ordinary goods trading, mineral or petroleum exploration and extraction, and activities governed separately by OHADA, the Mining Code or the Petroleum Code follow their own frameworks. A foreign capital inflow that creates company rights can qualify as direct investment, but portfolio placement does not qualify for the direct-investment approval regime. ANPIPS handles applications through its Guichet Unique. An eligible activity and financial and technical viability are required. The promotion regime covers investments of at least FCFA 25 million and below FCFA 2 billion, excluding taxes and working capital. It generally requires at least five permanent national jobs for an investment up to FCFA 100 million and at least ten for a higher investment. Its benefit period is six years and implementation can last no longer than 36 months. The conventional regime covers investments of at least FCFA 2 billion, requires at least 20 permanent jobs, provides a seven-year benefit period and allows implementation for up to three years. Export-oriented Zones Franches and Points Francs have additional decree-based conditions. ANPIPS prepares the file; the Director General of ANPIPS decides promotion-regime approvals, while conventional, zone and point approvals are granted by presidential decree following a ministerial report. Approved projects can receive broad tax and customs exemptions on imports directly connected with implementation, subject to exclusions for specified social, payroll-related and similar charges and for equivalent products available locally. A services VAT exception may also apply. The approval does not automatically cover portfolio investments or projects outside the approved programme. The investor has to implement the programme within the approved scope and time, report the start date, investment amount, jobs and implementation status, provide statistical and control information, and comply with environmental, consumer, labour, social-security and tax law. The project also has to follow SYSCOA/OHADA accounting requirements, use French as its working language and give priority to national skills, materials and services where required. Suspension or withdrawal and repayment of tax or customs benefits can follow non-compliance, fraud, serious breaches or failure to regularize the project. Securities investment gives access to shares, corporate and government bonds, and collective investment funds known as OPCVM, including SICAV and FCP structures. The BRVM is the common stock exchange for the eight UEMOA countries. Niger-based access is available through SGI NIGER S.A.; ANB NIGER serves as the national exchange antenna. SGI NIGER has been authorized for Bourse en Ligne since 20 September 2024. AMF-UMOA supervises regional market authorization, BRVM operates the exchange, and DC/BR handles central custody and settlement. SGI firms execute listed-security orders and maintain securities accounts; SGO, SGP or other authorized management companies can provide fund or portfolio management services. The usual securities process begins by contacting an authorized intermediary, opening a compte-titres and a linked compte espèces, signing the required convention and forms, choosing whether to manage the portfolio personally or delegate management, and submitting an order. A buyer needs liquid funds before purchase, while a seller needs to hold the securities before selling. Each transaction generates an avis d'opéré. A quarterly statement shows portfolio value, cash, security movements and money movements, while an annual statement records dividends and realized capital gains. Costs can include brokerage, the BRVM commission, the DC/BR commission, taxes, account administration, custody and management fees. Intermediaries set tariffs within the applicable approval framework, and AMF-UMOA homologates them. Current amounts should be obtained directly from the chosen SGI, SGO or SGP rather than assumed from a general estimate. Compare authorization, services, custody arrangements, execution quality, information quality, fees, liquidity, issuer and prospectus information, tax treatment, maturity and risk before choosing an intermediary or security. A portfolio should match the investment goal, time horizon and need for accessible cash. Diversification across issuers, sectors, countries and asset classes reduces dependence on Niger-only opportunities, whose listed-market breadth is limited. Use only capital that can remain invested or exposed to loss, and assess a direct project separately from a BRVM portfolio. Relevant risks include price, issuer default, interest-rate, liquidity, spread, concentration, construction, operating, title, land, climate, commodity, security, legal, tax, currency, transfer and regulatory-change risks. BRVM access and Code des Investissements approval provide no automatic protection of capital or return. No reliable Niger-specific primary-source basis currently supports expanding this overview to digital assets or cryptocurrency investments.