Georgia is the fastest jurisdiction in the wider region to start a business: one day at the House of Justice, no minimum capital, full foreign ownership, and a 1% tax regime for solo founders. Here is the complete playbook for African entrepreneurs expanding into the Caucasus or restructuring their international operations.
Same-day incorporation at the House of Justice for a GEL 200 fee. Passport and charter are the only mandatory documents.
Individual entrepreneurs pay 1% on turnover up to GEL 500,000 per year — one of the most competitive regimes worldwide.
Georgian LLCs pay corporate tax only on distributed profit. Retained earnings stay untaxed — a decisive cash-flow edge for scale-ups.
Filing itself takes one day. The realistic end-to-end timeline — including charter drafting, bank onboarding and tax-regime registration — is 2 to 4 weeks for an African founder.
Most foreign founders open an LLC (Ltd) — no minimum share capital, full foreign ownership, and one director is enough. Individual Entrepreneur (IE) status suits solo consultants and freelancers targeting the 1% Small Business regime.
Draft the articles of association in Georgian (bilingual with English is common). Georgia Office or a local law firm can prepare a template in a few hours. Founders sign in person at the House of Justice, or remotely by notarised power of attorney.
One-stop shop in Tbilisi, Batumi or Kutaisi. Filing fee is GEL 100 (~USD 37) for standard registration or GEL 200 for same-day. Passport, charter, and a registered legal address are the only mandatory documents.
The company extract, tax ID and VAT status are issued together. The tax ID doubles as the company registration number. You are now legally operating in Georgia.
TBC Bank, Bank of Georgia and Credo Bank accept non-resident founders. Bring the company extract, charter and passport. Enhanced due diligence applies to certain African nationalities — plan for 2–3 weeks and a reference letter from your home bank.
Apply for Small Business Status (1% turnover tax) or Virtual Zone (0% profit tax on IT exports) at the Revenue Service if eligible. Payroll registration is required before your first hire; social contributions are only for Georgian residents.
Georgia layers several special regimes on top of a lean standard tax code. Pick the one that matches your activity and turnover — Georgia Office can confirm eligibility during a free 30-minute call.
Georgia's flagship regime for solo founders. Replaces income tax; 1% flat on gross revenue, filed monthly. Exceeding the cap for two consecutive years triggers a switch to the standard 20% regime.
Fully tax-exempt but activity list is narrow (crafts, small services). Rarely relevant for African B2B founders — mentioned for completeness.
5% dividend tax on distribution. Extremely popular with African SaaS founders, dev shops and cybersecurity firms serving EU or US clients.
Substituted for the standard 15% corporate rate. Best for established African tech groups relocating a subsidiary to Tbilisi or Batumi.
Retained earnings are untaxed. Corporate tax is only due when profits are distributed as dividends — a major cash-flow advantage for growing companies.
For African exporters using Georgia as a Caucasus / Black Sea manufacturing and re-export hub. Physical presence in the zone is mandatory.
Georgia sits in the top 10 of the World Bank's historical Ease of Doing Business index and top 15 of the Economic Freedom Index — ahead of most EU jurisdictions African founders would otherwise consider.
Double-taxation treaties with major African economies (South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria via UK treaty relief) plus the EU, UK, UAE and China — enabling clean dividend and royalty flows.
Poti and Anaklia deep-water ports on the Black Sea, direct flights to Istanbul, Dubai, Addis Ababa and Doha, and gigabit fibre in Tbilisi — a genuine bridge between African trade and Caucasus / Central Asia.
A registered Georgian company and GEL 300,000 in investment or turnover unlocks temporary residence for the founder and family — a parallel path to the standard 183-day tax-residency rule.
We coordinate the notary, House of Justice filing, tax-regime application and bank introduction — end-to-end, in English or French. Reach out to scope your setup.
Talk to Georgia Office →