ZimCompany › How it works

From twelve questions to a certificate, without a flight to Harare

Registering a Zimbabwean company remotely through ZimCompany is five steps: answer twelve questions, with a follow-up where your answers need one, receive your quotation by email, reply to it and get your timeline confirmed in writing, pay in full and send your documents, and we file and deliver. It works the same whether the owner is Zimbabwean, a foreign national or a company registered outside Zimbabwe. You pay in full when you instruct the job, and each item takes five working days from the day we have your complete documents, with dependent items running one after another.

Last verified 10 September 2026.

The five steps

  1. Answer twelve questions, plus follow-ups. Where you live, what you want to build, who is going to own it and whether anyone is resident in Zimbabwe. A Private Business Corporation route is asked one more, about the accounting officer its incorporation statement has to name, and a foreign owner whose sector contains a reserved activity is asked whether the company will mainly do it. It takes about three minutes and it is how we work out which vehicle the law actually allows you, and what your ownership adds to the list.
  2. Get an estimate and a written timeline. You see the recommended vehicle, the bundle, our fee and the government fees as separate numbers. Your quotation then arrives by email; reply to it and we confirm your timeline in writing before you pay.
  3. Pay in full. You pay in full when you instruct the job, in one payment rather than in stages. Our fee and the government fee are separate numbers on the quote, and government fees are passed through at cost.
  4. Send your documents. Identity documents or passports, proof of address, your five proposed names and your ownership split, plus the registration documents of any company that will hold shares. We tell you exactly what to certify, and by whom in the country you are in.
  5. We file, track and deliver. A registered filing agent in Harare lodges the application. Each item takes five working days from the day we have your complete documents, confirmed in writing by our filing partner. Where one item depends on another they run in sequence, so a ZIMRA registration waits for the certificate of incorporation and a tax clearance waits for the ZIMRA registration. You get an update at every step and your documents when the registry issues them.

What we need from you

How payment works

You pay in full when you instruct the job, in one payment rather than in stages. Our fee and the government fee are separate numbers on the quote, and government fees are passed through at cost.

Quotes are priced and charged in United States dollars and carry a card pay link. Cards issued outside Zimbabwe are sometimes declined by the acquirer, and if that happens we send bank transfer details. Someone in Zimbabwe can settle it locally on your behalf.

What comes back to you if the job does not proceed is set out in the refund policy, which is in force rather than a draft: if you stop before we lodge, we refund what you have paid less government fees already paid on your behalf and less any name-search application already made at US$5 each, and work already delivered is not refunded.

Your quotation arrives by email. Reply to it and we confirm your timeline in writing before you pay. If we cannot confirm a timeline in writing, anything you have paid comes back in full.

How long each item takes

Each item takes five working days from the day we have your complete documents, confirmed in writing by our filing partner. Where one item depends on another they run in sequence, so a ZIMRA registration waits for the certificate of incorporation and a tax clearance waits for the ZIMRA registration.

Five working days is counted from the day we hold everything we asked you for, not from the day you paid, because an incomplete file cannot be lodged. A job made of several items is not five days in total: a company registration runs its five days, and only then can the ZIMRA registration start its own, and only then can a tax clearance be asked for. Items that do not depend on each other are run alongside one another.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to travel to Zimbabwe?

No. Documents are signed where you live and sent to us digitally. Where an original genuinely has to travel, we plan the courier leg into the schedule and tell you before you pay.

When exactly do I pay, and how much?

You pay in full when you instruct the job. The whole quoted amount, in one payment, and nothing further is due before your documents are released. Your quotation arrives by email and carries a card link, so you can pay the moment it lands; reply to it first and we confirm your timeline in writing before you pay. Your quotation arrives by email. Reply to it and we confirm your timeline in writing before you pay. If we cannot confirm a timeline in writing, anything you have paid comes back in full.

How long does each item take?

Each item takes five working days from the day we have your complete documents, confirmed in writing by our filing partner. Where one item depends on another they run in sequence, so a ZIMRA registration waits for the certificate of incorporation and a tax clearance waits for the ZIMRA registration. It is the same five working days for a company registration, a ZIMRA registration, a tax clearance, an NSSA registration or renewal, a VAT registration, a PRAZ supplier registration, a re-registration and annual returns. The government vendor number is the exception, because Treasury processes it rather than our filing partner: Treasury processes a government vendor number in 2 or 7 working days, depending on the route, counted from the day the complete application is lodged. We do not publish a total for a job made of several items, because the dependent ones run one after another and the count starts on the day your file is complete.

What if the registry rejects my company name?

The price covers two name-search applications. If both are rejected, the third is charged as its own line: US$10, which is our fee for making the application, with the US$5 CIPZ charge included in it. A rejected name is not a failed job, because the registry has done the search it was paid for. An approved name is also reserved for about 30 days and lapses if the company is not filed in that window, so have your documents ready.

Who is actually doing the work in Harare?

A registered filing agent lodges registrations, a registered accounting practice handles statutory returns, and anything that amounts to legal advice is referred to a legal practitioner. ZimCompany coordinates them and carries the deadlines.

What happens after my documents arrive?

Your obligations start on a calendar. Tax filings, employer filings, annual returns and clearance renewals all fall on dates. We diarise them from your certificate and quote before they are late.

Talk to ZimCompany

ZimCompany registers and runs Zimbabwean companies for people and businesses anywhere in the world: owners living outside Zimbabwe, foreign investors, and companies registered elsewhere that need a Zimbabwean entity. Email support@lioncapventures.com or message +263 77 272 4514 on WhatsApp. We work 9:00 to 17:00 CAT, UTC+2 in Harare, Zimbabwe.

ZimCompany is a Lioncap Ventures service. Lioncap Ventures (Pvt) Ltd, registration 16326A02102024, Harare, Zimbabwe. Start with the questionnaire at https://zimcompany.com/start.

Register a company in Zimbabwe: The two vehicles, the steps from name search to ZIMRA, the documents the registry needs, and what each step costs, with the government fee as its own number.