How to Register Sole Proprietorship business in Rwanda

Rwanda is one of the fastest growing countries in Africa in terms of economic growth and ease of doing business.

The current President, Paul Kagame, has made several reforms which have ensured the country attract investors to spur growth.

If you have intentions of operating a sole proprietorship business, Rwanda is the place to be. As you prepare to join other successful entrepreneurs; the following procedure will help you in starting a sole proprietorship company in Rwanda.

You can register your business online at http://org.rdb.rw/ or at the Office of the Registrar General which is located in Kigali.

Name Search

This is the first step in registering sole proprietorship business. Once you have identified company name, proceed to the office of registrar to confirm whether the same name is being used by other business entity. Ensure you have three names such that even if one name fails to go through another name will be used for your business.

Name Reservation

After name search, Name reservation is done to give you time to proceed with other registration processes. The process requires you to pay not more than RwF 2,000. Name reservation takes approximately one month after which, you are required to pay another Rwf2,000 for extension of reservation of your name.

Document required registering sole proprietorship business

• An application letter indicating your  names
• Place and date of birth
• Domicile and residence
• Nationality, gender, marital status, in case married, name of the spouse and their matrimonial regime
• Consent of the spouse in case their matrimonial regime is based on joint ownership,
• Name of the business enterprise and trade mark if applicable,
• The nature of business your company will be conducting
• The headquarters of the business enterprise, in case of bankruptcy, judgments rendered to the applicant by Rwandan courts or foreign courts
• If applicable, trademarks deposited before the state, indicating the place and date of deposit and two passport photos.

Certificate of incorporation

Once you have submitted the document required, you’ll wait for 2 to 4 weeks to receive a certificate of incorporation, which will allow you to conduct business in Rwanda.