GIPC is now GIPA. There is a 24-hour expedited service.

The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre is now the Ghana Investment Promotion Authority. The change is more than a name. Registration, certificate renewal and the automatic immigrant quota now sit with an Authority, and there is a 24-hour expedited service.

For foreign principals, GIPA still sits on top of ordinary incorporation. You register at the Office of the Registrar of Companies, complete beneficial ownership and tax identity, then register with GIPA before you begin operating. Capital transfer is confirmed through your dealer bank to the Bank of Ghana.

Minimum foreign capital under the GIPC Act, 2013 (Act 865) has not gone away because the Centre became an Authority. A joint venture where a Ghanaian partner holds at least 10 percent is US$200,000. A wholly foreign-owned company is US$500,000. General trading, plus 20 skilled Ghanaians employed, is US$1,000,000. Exemptions apply to enterprises set up solely for manufacturing, export trade or portfolio investment, and to certain Ghanaians in the diaspora and foreign spouses of Ghanaian citizens.

Certificate renewal and the automatic immigrant quota are part of staying in good standing. Miss them and you find out later, usually when a bank declines your account.

The 24-hour expedited service is useful when the rest of the sequence is already clean. It does not replace name search, tax identity, capital confirmation or the resident director.