Mali Company Formation & Entity Choice

Entity types and incorporation

Company law in Mali follows the OHADA Uniform Act on Commercial Companies and Economic Interest Groups (AUSCGIE). The most common vehicles are the SARL (limited liability company) and SA (public limited company); registration is centralised through the one-stop shop (Guichet Unique) at the API-Mali / commercial registry (RCCM).

• Société à Responsabilité Limitée (SARL) — Limited liability company — the most common SME vehicle (OHADA Uniform Act on Commercial Companies (AUSCGIE))
• Société Anonyme (SA) — Public limited company — for larger businesses; can be single-shareholder (SAU) (OHADA Uniform Act on Commercial Companies (AUSCGIE))
• Entreprise Individuelle — Sole proprietorship — no separate legal personality, owner is personally liable (OHADA Uniform Act on Commercial Companies (AUSCGIE))
• SARL minimum share capital — XOF 5,000 minimum legal capital (par value XOF 5,000 per share); higher capital often recommended for credibility XOF (OHADA Uniform Act on Commercial Companies (AUSCGIE))
• SA minimum share capital — XOF 10,000,000 (XOF 100,000,000 if making a public offering) XOF (OHADA Uniform Act on Commercial Companies (AUSCGIE))
• Commercial register — Registration in the Registre du Commerce et du Crédit Mobilier (RCCM) (OHADA Uniform Act on the General Commercial Law)
• Incorporation route — Via the Guichet Unique one-stop shop (API-Mali) which consolidates registration steps ((approx — confirm current agency name)) (API-Mali / Guichet Unique de Création d'Entreprise)
• Typical incorporation timeline — Roughly a few days to a few weeks via the Guichet Unique ((approx — confirm current processing times)) (API-Mali / Guichet Unique de Création d'Entreprise)
• Tax identification — Each company must obtain a NIF (Numéro d'Identification Fiscale) from the DGI (Code Général des Impôts (Mali))
• Core annual compliance — financial statements — File annual SYSCOHADA financial statements and the corporate tax return (OHADA Uniform Act on Accounting (SYSCOHADA))
• Core annual compliance — shareholders' meeting — Hold an annual ordinary general meeting to approve accounts (within 6 months of year-end) ((approx — confirm statutory deadline)) (OHADA Uniform Act on Commercial Companies (AUSCGIE))
• Statutory auditor (commissaire aux comptes) — Required for SA; required for SARL above OHADA size thresholds ((approx — confirm SARL audit thresholds)) (OHADA Uniform Act on Commercial Companies (AUSCGIE))