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Practical guideCIMA zone

Becoming an Insurance Broker or General Agent in the CIMA Zone: The Agrément, the Financial Guarantee and the Compulsory Professional Liability Cover

A courtier (broker) or agent général who wants to place business with insurers across the 14 CIMA member states must clear three separate, cumulative requirements before accepting a single client: a ministerial authorisation after a documentary vetting process, a standing financial guarantee of at least 10 million FCFA (or twice average monthly premiums handled, if higher) backed by a bank or insurer, and a professional liability insurance contract meeting a statutory minimum of cover. A company placing its own corporate insurance programme through an intermediary should be checking for all three before relying on that intermediary's advice.

AnalysisUEMOA zone

BCEAO Instruction No. 020: New E-Money Ceilings and Reserve Rules for UMOA Issuers (in Force 2 November 2026)

The BCEAO Governor signed Instruction No. 020 on 8 October 2026, amending the 2015 instruction that governs electronic money issuers across the eight UMOA member states. It doubles the per-client holding and monthly reload ceilings and, for the first time, imposes a minimum 65% sight-deposit requirement on the funds backing e-money in circulation. Both changes take effect on 2 November 2026 — the same date the BCEAO's new interoperable instant-payment regime for e-money transfers goes live.

AnalysisSenegal

Senegal's New Labour Code: What Changes for Employers (Law No. 2026-19)

Senegal has replaced its 1997 Labour Code outright. Law No. 2026-19 of 3 September 2026 — 462 articles across fifteen titles, in force since 18 September 2026 — rewrites fixed-term contracts, creates a full regime for telework and workplace harassment, extends maternity leave, and reshapes dismissal and subcontracting liability. Here is what an employer operating in Senegal needs to check first.

AnalysisCôte d'Ivoire

CNPS Contribution Payments in Côte d'Ivoire: What the New Integrated Payment Platform Changes for Employers

The CNPS has rolled out a new Plateforme de Paiement Intégré (PPI) on its e.cnps.ci employer portal, and unveiled further digital reforms at its Plateau agency in March 2026 — from delegated multi-user payments to a pledge to cancel late-payment penalties caused by verified technical failures. Here is what changes in practice for an employer's monthly compliance routine, and what does not.

AnalysisOHADA zone

Recovering a Debt from a Public Entity in the OHADA Zone: The New Article 30-1 Mechanism

Since 16 February 2024, creditors of States, public enterprises and local authorities across the OHADA zone have gained a statutory path to compel budgetary recognition of their claims, without breaching the immunity that shields public assets from seizure. A close reading of Article 30-1 of the revised Uniform Act — and what it changes, in practice, for the foreign creditor.

AnalysisCôte d'Ivoire

Côte d'Ivoire's 2026 Tax Annex: What Changes for Foreign-Owned Companies

An advance pricing agreement mechanism for transfer pricing, a new tax on foreign digital platforms without a local establishment, and tighter beneficial-ownership reporting: our reading of the three measures in the 2026 tax annex most likely to affect a foreign-owned group.

AnalysisUEMOA zone

Transfer Pricing in the UEMOA Zone: What Every CFO Should Know in 2026

Côte d'Ivoire's 2026 fiscal annex reverses the burden of proof in transfer pricing audits and creates an advance pricing agreement mechanism — while Senegal runs a more codified, threshold-driven regime next door. What this means for a group's documentation strategy across the zone.

AnalysisSenegal

Senegal's Consumer Protection and Pricing Law: What Changes for B2C Sellers (Law No. 2021-25)

Law No. 2021-25 of 12 April 2021 replaced Senegal's 1994 pricing and consumer framework with a far more detailed regime — mandatory invoicing content, a list of unfair contract terms, a statutory cooling-off right for distance and doorstep sales, and rules that reach foreign sellers whose activity affects the Senegalese market. Here is what a business selling to consumers in Senegal needs to check in its contracts and sales process.

Practical guideCIMA zone

Compulsory Motor Insurance in the CIMA Zone: What a Company Running a Vehicle Fleet Must Secure

Any company operating trucks, vans or company cars across the 14 CIMA member states is bound by a compulsory third-party motor liability insurance, on terms set out article by article in the CIMA Insurance Code. Here is what the obligation actually covers, who it protects, and where policies commonly fall short.

AnalysisCIMA zone

Licensing an Insurance Company in the CIMA Zone: Agrément, Corporate Form and the Solvency Margin

An investor looking to set up or acquire an insurance carrier across the 14 CIMA member states faces three linked requirements before writing a single policy: the right corporate form, a branch-by-branch licence (agrément), and proof of a sufficient solvency margin. Missing any one of them carries a real legal cost, not just an administrative delay.

Practical guideCIMA zone

The Two-Year Limitation Period in CIMA Insurance Contracts: What Policyholders and Insurers Must Track

Every claim arising from an insurance contract governed by the CIMA Insurance Code is subject to a short, two-year limitation period, with its own set of deferred starting points and a ten-year exception for life and personal-accident cover. Missing the distinction between these rules is one of the most common — and most costly — mistakes in claims handling across the CIMA zone.

AnalysisCôte d'Ivoire

Electronic Invoicing in Côte d'Ivoire: What the DGI's September 2026 Controls Actually Enforce

Since 1 September 2026 the Direction générale des Impôts has been running unannounced "sortie magasin" checks on the facture normalisée électronique across every tax regime — a control power that has existed since 2008 but whose fine schedule and legal basis are still widely misstated. Here is what the Livre de Procédures Fiscales actually says.

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HR & social security · PDF · EN

Registering a Company for CNPS Social Security Coverage in Côte d'Ivoire

The two registration pathways (Guichet Unique vs. direct CNPS filing), full document checklists, and worker-level declaration — 4 pages.

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