BIPA records a drop in business registrations

The Business and Intellectual Property Authority (BIPA) has observed a decline in overall business registrations by 7.3% compared to the 2021 calendar year.

According to the Registrar of Business and Intellectual Property, Vivienne Katiluongua, BIPA recorded a total of 12 666 registrations on its business register for the period January – December 2022. From the total number registrations, 11 130 comprised of Close Corporations (CC's), 1 153 for Companies, 318 registrations were for Section 21 Companies (Associations Not For Gain), 49 were Defensive Names and 16 were Foreign Companies. This number shows a decline by 7.3% from the same period during 2021, when the Authority recorded a total of 13 594 registrations.

"Although BIPA observed a decline of 9% in the registrations of CC's during 2022, compared to 2021, the Authority saw an increase in the number of companies registered by 12% compared to the previous year." says Katjiuongua.

Katjiuongua further pointed out that from the 12-thousand business entities that were registered, the Authority also recorded a total of 869 deregistration's for 2022. 613 of which were CC's and 256 companies. A total of 5 companies were recorded under liquidation during the same period.

Noted Katjiuongua "the number of registrations fluctuate year-on-year, depending on the socioeconomic climate in Namibia and the appetite for investment in the country. Therefore, BIPA is confident that should the investment climate and economic activities improve, especially in the domestic market, we may see an uptake in new business registrations for the ensuing year".