Legal Services in Mali
legal consultancy Service in Mali
Prepare your business for Mali company law Firm
Starting a business in Mali can be difficult because you will have to deal with potential customers, suppliers or staff which operate in a language (French) and a legal system that you are not familiar with. Similarly, it might be difficult for you to structure your business, because you are not familiar with the Mali company law.
Kafui & Partners is specialized in assisting global entrepreneurs with their legal affairs through the appointment of local counsel, from selecting the right corporate structure, drafting a formation deed, to dealing with labor and immigration laws. In case your business activity is regulated, Kafui & Partners can assist you to apply for a Business License.
When starting a company in Mali, you might be required to apply for a Travel Visa, or you might be interested to relocate permanently to Mali. Kafui & Partners has experience with relocation residency permits and other options to start a local business in Mali.
In case you are appointed as a board member in a Mali company, it’s important to understand your personal responsibilities and liabilities. Being a Law Firm & Mali company board member, you might be liable for any debts or claims against the company. Kafui & Partners can fully inform you on company law requirements and how these can affect your position as a board member.
Planning to do an investment in Mali?
Kafui & Partners can assist you in performing the correct Due Diligence and can facilitate the investment process.
In case you are entering the Malian market with a strong brand, you might like to consider protecting your brand as a registered trademark! Kafui & Partners provides basic legal support as part of its ‘Company Officer Service’, to make sure that new companies are set for the first 12 months, without any hidden fees.
Why Mali legal counselling pays off?
Before you start your Mali company, it’s advised to have a good understanding of the Mali and OHADA company laws, and the responsibilities of the shareholders and board members. Similarly, as an employer, it’s important to understand your (legal) responsibilities towards your staff and understand the consequences of employing staff in Mali.
First, you should ask yourself; Why am I starting a business in Mali in the first place? In order to employ staff, or to open a warehouse, or to apply for a VAT number and perform importing activities? Each situation is different and has different legal consequences. Based on your market entry scenario, Kafui & Partners can consult you on the legal consequences of performing such activity, and provides legal advice on how such activity can be structured.
In case you are signing any kind of legal agreement, from an employment agreement to a rental agreement, it’s advised to get a Law Firm & Legal advice from an experienced Malian lawyer. Mali corporate lawyers will check if you are taking any unnecessary risks, or committing to a (long-term) hidden agreement.
In many cases, members of our network can provide legal consulting services & legal assistance as part of our basic Company Officer Services. This means you get access to experienced Malian lawyers at negotiated rates. As a global entrepreneur, you should not underestimate the complexity of understanding a new legal system. Although the internet provides a lot of information, and online standard templates can be very convenient. When it comes to legal affairs, the devil lies in the details.
By appointing lawyers from Kafui & Partners network as your legal partner, you avoid such scenarios, so you can focus on your business.
Application of services
As mentioned before, each company and (market entry) scenario is different and unique in its own way. This also applies to the legal requirements and considerations of each types of company in Mali.
You might be planning to expand your business, but you are not certain yet to establish a Mali ‘branch’ or start a Mali subsidiary. Or you might be planning to take over an existing company, or payroll staff. In case you are planning to get investors and co-shareholders on board, it’s important to have a clear investor- or shareholders agreements in place.
Kafui & Partners as Law Firm has been involved with multiple entrepreneurs considering starting a company in Mali, and we have actively assisted dozens of them. This means we have a very good understanding of any legal requirement you might have, and chances are, we have done it before.
We have made an overview of typical legal requirements and described them in more detail in our Business Toolkit, so you can get more familiar with these subjects.
• Start Trading: Use General Terms and Conditions!
• Drafting a shareholders agreement
• Getting Authorised: Provide (or sign) a Power of Attorney in Mali
• Getting Appointed: Personal liabilities of a Mali board member
• Considerations when appointing staff in Mali
• Legal considerations when renting real estate
• Risk management;
• Protecting your brand
Examples of products
Before starting a business in Mali, it is advised to obtain a Legal Opinion about your situation. Even if our Incorporation Officer has done a great job in providing you with all the information that you require. It is very important to involve a legal expert to have a look at your situation, and consider that there is a lot of information that can easily be missed when the focus is on the end goal: Setting up a company ASAP!
In order to inform entrepreneurs as careful as possible, we can provide support on a variety of subjects, such as:
• Mali tax system
• Consequences of a non-resident board of Directors
• Salary requirements in Mali
• Business License requirements
• The requirement of Tax and Labour Reference Numbers
• Accounting Requirements
• Open a bank account
• and many more…
The typical legal services that Kafui & Partners has to offer in Mali are:
• Drafting, or checking of;
• Articles of Association
• Business/Trading Agreements
• Rental Agreement
• Real Estate Purchase Agreement
• Shares Purchase Agreement
• Shareholders Agreement
• Brand/Trademark Registration
• Debt Collection
• Apply for Business Licenses
What you should consider
Using legal services is typically considered expensive, but it’s really not! The question you should ask if you can really afford not to invest in professional legal support.
Using online templates, or online legal information can be quite tricky because each situation is unique. A Malian lawyer can provide you with valuable input that potentially saves you a lot of money (for example, in the case of claims).
To make life (or business in this case) even easier, Kafui & Partners as Law Firm provides basic legal consulting services as part of its basic Company Officer services. This means you can contact your Company Officer to discuss any of the topics mentioned on this page.
Should your request be too complicated, and not fit within the standard service, our legal team will provide you a fixed fee for our services in advance. This way you never have to deal with any unexpected fees afterward. The best piece of (free) advice that we can give you, is to give a call (or schedule a call, so we can call you!) to our Legal Consultants to discuss your situation and requirements.