CIPA generates P88m on company registrations, restorations
Pauline Dikuelo | Monday March 10, 2025 13:10
The revenue stems from the authority’s structures fees that businesses must pay to comply with regulatory requirements.
CIPA charges P150 (excluding P20 name reservation) for business name registrations while external companies registration is P4, 600. Company registrations is P360 (excluding P20 name reservation), and a P2, 000 company restoration fee with an additional P500 for annual returns.
Registered companies are also expected to pay an annual return fee of P500 every 12 months. Failure to meet this requirement results in a 10-day grace period, where a penalty of P500 is imposed. Continued non-compliance leads to the removal from the CIPA system.
During the Committee of Supply debate, the Minister of Trade and Entrepreneurship, Tiroeaone Ntsima, commended CIPA’s financial performance, stating that it has been exemplary and demonstrated its sustainability as a parastatal organisation.
“Since February 2024, significant milestones have been achieved in intellectual property initiatives, including the launch of an SMME mentorship project,” he said.
The SMME mentorship project, implemented in partnership with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), the Japan Patent Office (JPO), and the government of Botswana (GOB), has equipped 50 small businesses with vital IP skills.
In addition, CIPA has launched a new initiative focusing on the intellectual property rights of indigenous medicinal knowledge. Through the IP and traditional medicine project, traditional doctors have been identified and will be assisted in commercialising their products while maintaining control over their intellectual property.
Botswana’s commitment to intellectual property development and innovation is further demonstrated by P58 million initiatives aimed at transforming the national intellectual property ecosystem through four strategic pillars. This includes the P40 million Online Business Registration System (OBRS) for modernising digital platforms and developing local technological expertise, the P10 million Botswana IP Institute for specialised technical training, the P5 million Geographical Indications Project to enhance regional product value, and the P3 million Traditional Knowledge Protection program for safeguarding cultural practices and generating economic opportunities.
OBRS was introduced in 2021, a move that was part of the government’s broader strategy to curb money laundering activities while also improving the ease of doing business in Botswana. During the transition period, about 117,000 companies were removed from the CIPA register after they failed to re-register online. OBRS provides free access to the public to get information about the registered companies which includes shareholders.
However, ORBS will be given a facelift which will have new features that will require all companies, both new and existing to have a constitution. It will also introduce enhanced features for the declaration of beneficial owners of companies which can freely be accessed by the public on the CIPA website. An additional feature watchlist will allow users to monitor any company that they have interest in, which will give notifications when changes are made on company that one has placed on watchlist. In order to migrate to the upgraded system, OBRS will be offline from March 11 to 18 2025.