Kompasguides
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Cameroon edition

This guide is written in French (Cameroon edition). An English edition is in preparation.

Set up your business in Cameroon without paying intermediaries or missing a tax return.

The step-by-step guide to choosing the right legal form, going through the CFCE (the business registration centre) with the right file, and meeting your tax and social security obligations from the first month.

Get the guide for 4,900 FCFA Free CFCE checklist
  • 20 pages
  • 13 sources cited, including the 2026 Finance Act
  • Thirty-day action plan
Trade register, tax identification number, social security: the three numbers that make your business operational.

Mistakes at the start cost more than setting up.

Setting up a business takes a few days at the CFCE. The problems come afterwards, and almost always from the same mistakes:

The “facilitator” paid without a receipt

Extra fees, with no proof. You pay more, with no evidence of what was done.

The wrong legal form

As a sole trader, your liability is unlimited. A business debt can become your own.

The forgotten tax return

Declaring nothing for fear of paying exposes you to fines and late-payment interest.

41,500 FCFA
in reported official fees to register a sole proprietorship at the CFCE (another source quotes about 70,000)
versus
4,900 FCFA
to know what to pay, to whom, and pay nothing more

The CFCE announces an official turnaround of 72 hours. In practice, sources mention three to seven working days: a complete file makes the difference. Source: Lefisk (in French)

What you will be able to do after reading it

From the idea to the first month of business, without forgetting anything.

  • Test your idea before spendingFirst customers, prices, break-even point.
  • Choose the legal formSole proprietorship, SARL, SAS or SA: liability, capital, who it suits.
  • Prepare the CFCE fileDocuments, steps, reported costs and questions to ask at the counter.
  • Meet your tax obligationsTax identification number, tax regime, monthly returns.
  • Hire properlyWritten contract, CNPS (social security), payslips.
  • Set up from abroadRepresentative, non-resident partners, double approval of payments.

Look inside

A real working guide: tables, worked examples, tick-box checklists. Here are three pages (in French).

Guide page: comparison table of legal forms
The comparison of legal forms
Guide page: CFCE steps and costs
The CFCE process and reported costs
Guide page: common mistakes and action plan
Common mistakes and the thirty-day plan

This guide is for you if

  • you are starting a business and want to register it properly;
  • you are hesitating between a sole proprietorship and an SARL;
  • you are setting up from abroad or with partners;
  • you want to know your obligations before your first inspection.

It is not for you if

  • you are looking for articles of association ready to sign: have them drafted or reviewed by a legal adviser;
  • you are setting up a company with investors: get support from a lawyer;
  • you are already an accountant.

Start with the free CFCE checklist.

Three short pages in phone format: the documents to prepare, the questions to ask at the counter and the golden rule on fees. In French (Cameroon edition).

The complete guide

This guide is written in French (Cameroon edition). An English edition is in preparation.

Guide and Tips to Start Your Business and Optimise Costs (Cameroon edition)

  • Guide written in French (Cameroon edition).
  • 20-page PDF in A5 format, in large print for comfortable reading on a phone
  • Nine chapters, from the idea to the first month of business
  • Comparison of legal forms and reported costs
  • Basic tax and social security obligations
  • Thirty-day action plan and checklists
  • 13 sources cited
  • Bonus: the Kompasguides newsletter free of charge, with fully verified land and property listings every week
4,900 FCFA

Orange Money or MTN MoMo. Download as soon as the payment is confirmed.

Planning a complete project? All four guides: 9,900 FCFA instead of 19,600 FCFA.

Frequently asked questions

Does the guide draft my articles of association?

No. It explains what they must include and advises you to have them reviewed by a legal adviser or a notary.

Are the fees quoted official?

They come from secondary sources that do not always agree. The guide flags this and tells you what to ask the CFCE to get a written quote.

Does this guide replace an accountant?

No. It helps you understand your obligations and know when to call on an accountant.

I live abroad. Is the guide suitable?

Yes. A chapter covers setting up from a distance and with non-resident partners.

Is payment secure?

Payment by Orange Money, MTN MoMo. With Orange Money or MTN MoMo, the request goes straight to your phone: you approve it with your PIN, without leaving this site. Your PIN is never requested or stored by this site.

How it works

  1. Choose your guideClick “Buy”.
  2. Pay with your phoneApprove with your Orange Money or MTN MoMo PIN, or pay by card.
  3. Download the PDFThe guide is available as soon as the payment is confirmed.
  • Orange Money
  • MTN MoMo

For the next steps of your project