Liberia Opens Business Registry

The first ever digitized and computerized, online one-stop shop business registry, aimed at transforming Liberia’s manual domestic trade  practices  and  ways  of making business has  been inaugurated in Monrovia.

The Joint government agency initiative, known as the Liberia Business Registry (LBR), has three key functions-to collate comprehensive data, make business registration flexible and achievable within a day and create credibility for Liberian businesses.  

The services would be provided, in collaboration with the Ministries of Commerce and Industry, Foreign Affairs and Finance and National Social Security and Welfare Corporation.

During a media briefing last Friday, Mr. Abu Kamara, Registrar –General of the newly established LBR, said officially the center would become operational in early 2011.  Two additional satellite offices of LBR are expected to be situated in Buchanan and Ganta to facilitate registration of other businesses.

According to him, the cities were chosen because of the locations have the largest growing business establishments beside Monrovia.  

The project was undertaken by Government of Liberia, through the World Bank group, Investment Climate Team for Africa (ICTA) to reform the country’s investment climate, begun in March 2006.

The total of US$2.5m was made available by ICTA for the facilitation of the project, hosted in a multi-purpose   central office building, with state of the art facilities for businesses on Nelson Street in Monrovia.

There are about 20 currently training with a Norwegian Registers Development (NRD) firm that has created the modern business registry in accordance with international best practices.   

Businesses of all kinds such as Limited Liability Corporations, non for profit corporations, partnership, limited partnership, trust and foundations among other are expected to be registered by LBR.