- CIPA re-iterates commitment to contributing to ease of doing business in Botswana
Gaborone: The Companies and Intellectual Property Authority of Botswana (CIPA) has successfully hosted the annual Corporate Registers Forum (CRF) 2018. The conference was held last week here in Gaborone at the Gaborone International Convention Centre under the theme “Corporate Registries: A critical vehicle for Global Economic Growth.”
Countries that participated included New Zealand, Zambia, South Africa, Angola and Seychelles to name a few.
A total of over 140 delegates from across the globe were present with a representation from 40 countries with Ministers of Trade from Kiribati and Vietnam at the event.
“We are so grateful to the CRF Executive Committee and the entire membership for having demonstrated faith and confidence in us for facilitating an event of this magnitude, the feedback we have received since the closing of the conference has been nothing but positive and this brings us satisfaction as it is not only a step in the right direction for us as CIPA, but also for us as Batswana” said Registrar General, Paul Masena.
CIPA’s vision as seen in its strategic plan for 2015-2020 is to be the leading business registration and Intellectual Property Authority with the aim of making Botswana the number one business destination in Africa by the year 2020.
Botswana is the third country to host the Corporate Registers Forum after South Africa in 2009 and Mauritius in 2010.
Speaker line up for the CRF 2018 was inclusive of Joey Mathekga who gave a presentation on Corporate Registries and the fight against crime; CEO and Registrar of Patents and Companies Registration Agency in Zambia and Ross van der Schyff General Manager of Business Integrity Services at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment in New Zealand to mention but few, all presentations and outcomes reached during the week of the CRF 2018 can be found on the Corporate Registers Forum 2018 website.
Within the upcoming months, the Companies and Intellectual Property Authority will be relocating to its new headquarters in the Gaborone Central Business District. In an endeavour to improve service delivery and efficiency, furthermore the Authority will start offering business registration services online in 2018.
CIPA is mandated to register businesses and protect intellectual property rights through the administration of four (4) pieces of legislation namely;
- The Companies Act (CAP 42:01), which provides for the incorporation of companies; registration of post incorporation returns and notices; monitoring of post incorporation returns and reservation of company names.
- CIPA is now a Parastatal Body with Government under the parent Ministry of Trade and Industry. The transformation from a Government Department to a Parastatal was necessitated
- The Authority is headed by the Registrar General who oversees the operations of all divisions of the Authority and ensures that it achieves the mandate for which it was set up.
- Botswana is represented by CIPA at the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO), as well as the Corporate Registers Forum.
