Do Business · 8 min read
Starting a business in Mozambique: the full checklist
Foreign companies rarely fail in Mozambique because the market is wrong. They fail because they underestimate sequencing. Here is the order that works.
1. Decide the vehicle before anything else
An Lda suits most investors. A branch of a foreign company is occasionally better for short project mandates, and an SA makes sense where you need transferable shares and a formal board. This choice affects tax, licensing and visa headroom, so make it deliberately.
2. Prepare and legalise documents early
Shareholder identity documents, registry extracts and powers of attorney all need apostille or consularisation and sworn Portuguese translation. Start this the day you decide to proceed — it is consistently the longest lead item.
3. Reserve, notarise, register, publish
Reserve the company name, notarise the articles, file at the commercial registry and publish in the Boletim da República. Only after publication does the entity function properly for banking and licensing purposes.
4. NUIT, social security and municipal licensing
Register for a company NUIT and the applicable taxes, enrol with INSS, and obtain your municipal alvará plus any sector licence. Trading before these are in place creates penalties that follow you.
5. Bank account and capital registration
Open your corporate account and, critically, register inbound investment capital with the Banco de Moçambique. Skipping this step is the reason many investors later struggle to repatriate dividends.
6. Build the compliance calendar on day one
Monthly VAT and withholding, INSS, provisional tax and annual accounts. Put them in a calendar with owners and reminders before your first invoice, not after your first penalty.