Companies and Intellectual Property Authority

Companies and Intellectual Property Authority (CIPA)^[1] is Botswana's registrar of companies and is a government parastatal. It falls under the Ministry of Trade and Industry. All types of companies (as permitted by Botswana Companies and Intellectual Property Authority Act) are incorporated and registered with CIPA, which requires them to file specific details in accordance with the current Companies and Intellectual Property Authority Act.^[2] All registered limited companies, including subsidiary, small and inactive companies, must file annual financial statements alongside their annual company returns. The registration of companies is now done online since the introduction of the online business registration system launched by Bogolo Kenewendo.^[3]