Secret Continent of Freedom: Banks and Companies in Africa

What will a typical Westerner say when we suggest starting a business or using banking services in Africa? Well, that depends on the dominating narrative of the continent in his or her head. Africa has long been considered a Dark Continent dominated by disease, poverty, famine, and war, and this is the downside of the story. As for the upside, it is also portrayed as an emerging economy ready for investment, cooperation, and West-style business. 

Reports from Somalia, Liberia, and the Central African Republic, dominated by violence and the supply of weapons, feed the dark agenda, while the news on newly-opened African businesses make us consider the continent a new land of opportunities. Which view is correct? Well, that depends on the place.

Africa is not a small country and not even a small continent like Australia. It is a huge territory with different countries, systems, and prospects. And while you will not find a single bank in the Central African Republic, Botswana, and Rwanda are the countries that have local financial institutions and representative offices of international banks, like Citibank, Standard Chartered, Stanbic, and others. They would never have come here if it was impossible to safely earn money in Africa.

OK, there are a number of African banks, but how to work with them? It must be too difficult, expensive, and inconvenient, you would say. Is that right?

Well, there are African countries where the banking services are obsolete, and some of them are in principle unprepared to work with foreigners. However, there exist jurisdictions that offer state-of-the-industry services and a good online bank that works with foreigners from all over the world.

If you google a query like “opening an account in Africa”, you will hardly find anything beyond South Africa. However, we know at least 3 African countries where you can safely and comfortably register companies and open bank accounts right now.

Botswana: an Account in 30 Minutes

Botswana is located in the southern part of Africa and has no access to the sea. And still, this does not prevent it from being one of the most stable countries on the whole continent. 

Botswana offers:

• Well-developed infrastructure
• Low crime rate
• English spoken widely
• Excellent banks with state-of-the-industry services

You will access your account through an online bank right after you transfer a small deposit (from 250 euros). The bank will issue the card within 5 working days.

If you decide to choose another bank (for example, Standard Chartered Bank or ABSA, the former Barclays), the account opening procedure will require a little bit more time and effort (about 1 week). And still, this is very quick for a bank account, especially in present-day conditions.

Zambia: Trusts and Accounts

This is one more country locked inside the mainland, which does not prevent it from developing its economy, attracting investments, and offering high-quality banking services.

English is an official language here as Zambia is a former British colony. Like Botswana, it boasts a low crime rate and well-developed infrastructure. The subsidiaries of foreign banks are happy to welcome foreigners.

You can open a local trust if you wish, but you will need to get a visa and appoint at least one local director.

Rwanda: Start your Business Online

A small African state hidden somewhere between the Republic of Congo, Tanzania, and Uganda, a neighbor of Burundi, will ensure a high level of confidentiality for your business.

There is a separate organization here, Rwanda Development Board (RDB), which was specially created to work with foreign investments. It will help you start your business, and registration is straightforward and can be done online.

In Rwanda, we cooperate with at least three serious banks that are ready to work with international investors, and one of them will provide unbelievable opportunities to you.

The matter is that our colleagues have set up Rwanda Trust Company here and opened an account with one of the banks. The most interesting thing is that we can open subaccounts for each client! 

We carry out KYC procedure by ourselves as the bank has transferred this right to us under an agreement. It enables us to check all documents very quickly and open a multi-currency account on your behalf in a very short time. 

Technically, it is a custodial account, but the account will be opened on behalf of the client without our Trust in Africa being mentioned. The account will be under your full control, and the Trust will in no way interfere with your transactions (except for the situations when there are questions asked by the security service or in any other similar cases). 

This solution is well-suited for risky kinds of business, such as forex, gambling, crypto, and so on. If you need this opportunity, be sure to take it now as Africa really offers it.

Africa, the Secret Continent of Freedom for Business

If you are looking for an open door, Africa may be the one open most widely. The good news is that you don’t need to go to any random bank and study how safe the different states of the African continents are: we have done the job for you! We can offer the solutions that can be used in Africa right now.

To book a consultation, write to in**@***********rt.com and choose the most profitable place to launch a business and open an African bank account.