Choose the legal form first
In OHADA member states such as the Central African Republic, most traders incorporate as an SARL, a single-shareholder SUARL, or an SA for larger structures. The choice drives your capital requirement, your reporting duties, and how easily you can bring in a partner later.
Decide it before you draft anything: changing form after registration means redoing the file.
The registration file
- Company name check and reservation
- Articles of association and shareholder identity documents
- Filing with the one-stop business desk
- Trade register entry (RCCM) and a tax identification number
- Sector licences: import/export authorisation, trade, or services
The bank account is the real gate
A company that cannot pay a foreign supplier cannot import. Opening a corporate account and arranging foreign-currency transfers usually takes longer than the incorporation itself, so start the conversation with the bank while the file is still being processed.
Consider an entity on the other side
Traders who buy regularly from China often add a local structure there, a mainland company or a Hong Kong one, to invoice in local currency, hold supplier contracts directly, and export under their own name. It is not necessary on day one, but it changes what you can negotiate once volumes grow.