Office of the Registrar of Companies takes business registration education to shops  

The Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC) as part of its efforts to enhance business compliance and awareness has organised a street float to educate and sensitise the public on the need to register their businesses and file annual returns.

The event, which took place on Wednesday, December 20, 2023, at the Tema enclave in the Greater Accra region, featured an engaging and informative campaign where officials from the ORC distributed informational flyers to business proprietors, pedestrians, drivers, and individuals expressing interest in understanding the registration process. 

Clad in branded lacoste shirts, the staff of ORC actively participated in the outreach, engaging with the public to underscore the importance of business registration and compliance.

The staff members of ORC boarded a float bus, adorned with promotional materials and banners, amplifying the message of business registration throughout the business streets of Tema. 

The police provided security for the exercise, facilitating a safe street sensitisation campaign.

The Office of the Registrar of Companies is an autonomous public institution mandated to register and regulate all business entities in Ghana and was established by an Act of Parliament under section 351 of the Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992).

Speaking to the media after the exercise, the Deputy Companies Inspector, Mrs Matilda Osei, said the initiative by the ORC reflects a concerted effort to promote business legitimacy and compliance within the Ghanaian entrepreneurial landscape. 

She explained that by reaching out directly to stakeholders through innovative approaches, the campaign endeavours to foster a culture of business accountability and legal adherence, ultimately contributing to the country's economic growth and stability.

She expressed the concern that many people did not know about the need to register their businesses or even file their annual returns.

That, Mrs Osei noted, informed the ORC’s initiative to come out from their offices to directly engage the business community about the significance of registering one's businesses and also fulfilling their annual filing obligations.

She said during the shop-to-shop campaign, the team observed that many business owners who had registered their businesses failed to display their business registration certificates in their shops.

That, she explained, business certificates are not to be hidden from the public, hence encouraging business owners to display their certificates in their shops.

Mrs Osei further encouraged business owners to file their annual returns, explaining that many people had lost huge contracts due to lack of business registration documents.

She said the ORC had opened its new prestige office where business owners could get their business registration done within some few hours.