Back to Open Ownership map: Worldwide action on beneficial ownership transparency

Regions

Africa

As a natural resource-rich region, corporate ownership transparency is increasingly being embraced in Africa. It is seen as a tool that can help combat revenue leakages caused by a myriad of socio-economic issues such as corruption, money-laundering, procurement fraud, illicit financial flows and tax evasion. Our support to countries covers parts of Eastern, Western and Southern Africa. In East Africa, countries like Kenya are driving the use of beneficial ownership information in procurement. In the West, Nigeria has published the region’s first public and free register of beneficial owners and in the South, significant progress has been made to set up registers for the collection of beneficial ownership (BO) data for legal arrangements such as Trusts.

Working with different funders, we have been providing technical support to countries in the region who are implementing beneficial ownership transparency (BOT). We support countries to establish and strengthen legislative and regulatory frameworks that will enable the effective collection, storing and sharing of quality BO information. We also build the technical capacity of implementing government agencies to operationalise such legislative frameworks on BOT. We have been priviledged to be a part of the BOT implementing journey of several economies in the region. As we continue to support countries to implement best practice, we recognise the dynamic nature of the space, and the need for a coordinated approach to implementing in the region.

Countries in the region

  • Algeria
  • Angola
  • Benin
  • Botswana

    We have provided support to the Companies and Intellectual Property Authority (CIPA) to help review their companies' legislation, including the Companies Act and associated Regulations and we will be providing support on reviewing their beneficial ownership guidelines. We are exploring opportunities for providing further support to the CIPA and other stakeholders including the Financial Intelligence Agency, the Master of the High Court, and the Ethics and Integrity Directorate.

  • Burkina Faso
  • Burundi
  • Cabo Verde
  • Cameroon
  • Central African Republic
  • Chad
  • Comoros
  • Côte d'Ivoire

    We supported Côte d'Ivoire with reviewing their beneficial ownership legislation and plan to provide more technical support as they advance with legislative reforms.

  • Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Djibouti
  • Egypt
  • Equatorial Guinea
  • Eritrea
  • Eswatini
  • Ethiopia
  • Gabon
  • Ghana

    We support the Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC) with amending the Companies Regulations and improving and digitising their systems of beneficial ownership (BO) declaration. We are also supporting the ORC with nationwide technical capacity-building for their staff. Our support is also focused on supporting the Minerals Commission and the Petroleum Commission with institutionalising BO in their existing license processes.

  • Guinea
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • Islamic Republic of Mauritania
  • Kenya

    We are providing key stakeholders with expert capacity-building and technical assistance to drive the use of beneficial ownership (BO) data in Kenya. We are targeting the key areas of procurement, taxation and making improvements to BO disclosures, as identified in Kenya’s recent FATF mutual evaluation report and also mentioned in other relevant government commitments. The key stakeholders we are engaging with are the Business Registry Service, Kenya Revenue Authority, Public Procurement Regulatory Authority, Department of Public Procurement, Central Bank of Kenya and Financial Reporting Centre.

  • Lesotho
  • Liberia

    We are supporting the key government implementing agencies with the development and operationalisation of a regulatory framework and a digital system for the collection, storing and sharing of beneficial ownership (BO) information. Our efforts are also focused on building the capacity of government and non-government stakeholders to declare, collect and use BO data.

  • Libya
  • Madagascar

    We have delivered technical capacity-building sessions on beneficial ownership transprency for the technical staff of the Financial Intelligence Unit and other government agencies.

  • Malawi

    Since the launch of the 2023 Open Government Partnership National Action Plan, we have been engaging with the Department of the Registrar General who specifically requested Open Ownership's assistance with the review of their beneficial ownership Regulations, and capacity-building on beneficial ownership transparency for the technical staff of the Registry. We are yet to move forward with this work.

  • Mali
  • Mauritius
  • Morocco
  • Mozambique

    During a public consultation on legislative drafting, we provided guidance to government stakeholders on the key elements of a legal framework.

  • Namibia

    We have provided technical assistance to key implementing agencies such as the Financial Intelligence Centre, Business and Intellectual Property Authority (BIPA), and the Master of the High Court (MoHC). This included reviewing relevant legislation and bespoke capacity-building sessions for the MoHC and BIPA.

  • Niger
  • Nigeria

    We have been supporting Nigeria with establishing a public beneficial ownership register that publishes data in line with our Beneficial Ownership Data Standard (BODS). Our efforts are also focused on advancing data-use through data-use projects and initiatives.

  • Republic of South Africa

    We are engaged in providing support to the Financial Intelligence Centre, the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission and other government stakeholders who are part of the Inter-Departmental Committee for Beneficial Ownership. This has included legal and systems support. In partnership with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, we have provided training to law enforcement authorities.

  • Republic of the Congo
  • Republic of The Gambia
  • Rwanda
  • São Tomé and Príncipe
  • Senegal

    We are supporting the Senegal Extractives Industry Transparency Initiative and the Ministry of Justice with the automation of the beneficial ownership (BO) declaration system, and the simplification of existing legislation on BO disclosures.

  • Seychelles
  • Sierra Leone
  • Somalia
  • South Sudan
  • Sudan
  • Togo
  • Tunisia
  • Uganda
  • United Republic of Tanzania

    We were engaged in providing helpdesk support to the corporate registry, the Business Registrations and Licensing Agency (BRELA), in reviewing the Tanzanian Companies Act Beneficial Ownership regulations and forms in 2020. The assessment was designed to identify priority issues for clarification and inform ongoing work towards best practice beneficial ownership implementation.

  • Zambia

    We have provided technical assistance to the Patents and Companies Registration Agency through submissions on legislative amendments, and capacity-building for technical staff. We have also provided assistance to the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development through the Mining Cadastre Department. This included capacity-building for selected Cadastre staff to enhance the use of beneficial ownership information in the mining licence due diligence process. We provided legislative guidance related to the Mines and Minerals Development Act and Minerals Regulatory Commission Bill and are exploring opportunities for capacity-building initiatives for the Judiciary.

  • Zimbabwe