What is the procedure for setting up/establishing a business in Ghana?
• The Companies Code 1963 (Act 179) is the law that regulates the formation of companies in Ghana. Under this Act, investors are allowed to establish and register a place of business in Ghana. The Government of Ghana (GoG) recognizes that attracting foreign direct investment requires an enabling legal environment, and has passed laws that encourage foreign investments, and replaced some that previously stifled it. One of such laws is the Ghana Investment Promotion Center (GIPC) Act, 1994 (Act 478). Under this Act, investors are free to set up investment projects in all sectors of the Ghanaian economy, without prior approval by the GIPC, with the exception of the mining, petroleum, and free zones sectors, as well as portfolio investments. Investments in the mining and petroleum sectors require approval or licensing by the Minerals Commission and the Ministry of Mines and Energy respectively. Free Zones (Export Processing Zones) investments must be approved by the Ghana Free Zones Board,
