Companies with low capital, delays in business creation: Lawyer Mory Diakhaté points out the limitations

The model for creating low-capital companies implemented in Senegal deserves to be re-evaluated. This is the opinion of Mory Diakhaté, Secretary General of the Chamber of Notaries of Senegal, who believes that the possibility of creating companies with a capital of 100,000 CFA francs does not guarantee their economic viability.

The guest on the Seneweb Eco program this Sunday, August 9, 2026, believes that while the reform aimed at facilitating business creation has certainly reduced costs, it now has certain limitations. "We've realized that since 2014, a huge number of companies have been created. And most of these companies are not viable," he stated.

According to him, the initial objective was, in particular, to allow informal sector actors to formalize their activities and facilitate their identification by the tax authorities. However, he sees the low capital levels of some companies as a problem. Moreover, he believes that in some cases, the capital can disappear as soon as the company is created, due to the various expenses incurred. "In reality, at the time of creation, this company sees its capital disappear along with the incorporation costs," he explains.

Risks of unsustainable companies

Furthermore, the Secretary General of the Chamber of Notaries also warns against the risks associated with using certain low-capital companies for illicit purposes. "Sometimes, these are companies that are created and are involved in money laundering," he states.

As an example, he cites the case of companies with very low share capital, while their declared activities show much larger sums. "You might see a company with €100,000 in share capital, but on the assets, on the balance sheets, you see that they've generated hundreds of billions. So sometimes, it's very inconsistent," he laments. He therefore believes that the reforms undertaken since 2014 need to be re-examined.

Another point raised by Mr. Diakhaté concerns the announced timeframe for business creation. The system implemented by the government was supposed to allow entrepreneurs to create their companies very quickly, specifically within 24 or 48 hours. But according to the notary, this promise no longer reflects the reality on the ground. Moreover, he claims the system only functioned for a few months. "The processing times have returned to their initial levels and are sometimes even longer," he explains, before adding that "we've gone from a completely automated system, where after signing the document was directly sent to APIX, to a completely fragmented mechanism," he criticizes.

This situation is particularly problematic for entrepreneurs and foreign investors who expect to benefit from the advertised deadlines. "Many developers, especially expatriates, call us saying they're told the incorporation deadlines are 72, 48, or 24 hours, but in reality, it's usually much longer," he reports. When asked about the actual delays, Mr. Diakhaté suggests a duration of approximately 10 days.

According to the Secretary General of the Chamber of Notaries, the results of the 24- or 48-hour business creation program are therefore unsatisfactory. He indicates, however, that discussions are underway with the authorities to improve the system. "We recently met with the authorities who are working on a new platform," he announced. This new solution should notably allow for the integration of online payments.