How to start a business in Burkina Faso

Well, well, well if it isn’t Burkina Faso today.
Let’s see what you need to do to start a new business here. First things first: here are some general data about Burkina Faso.

Burkina Faso is a low income economy located in Sub-Saharan Africa. It has a population of 16,460 million and a GNI (Gross National Income) per capita of 670 USD. Its capital city is Ouagadougou or Ouaga if you’re having trouble remembering.

Starting a business in Burkina Faso is relatively easy. You need to complete 3 procedures and wait for 13 days before your business is up and running. Let’s see in detail what is it exactly that you have to do :

• Where to address to register your company?

To register your company you need to address the Centre des Formalités de Entreprise (CEFORE)

• How many days are necessary to complete all the legal procedures?

13 days is the minimum time required for company registration.

• How many procedures are necessary to start a business?

You need to complete 3 procedures in order to legally register your company. Here they are:

1. Have your initial capital deposit with a bank

You will have to wait between 1 to 3 days before the bank releases you the paperwork conforming the initial capital subscription.

2. Address a public notary to notarize your company’s declaration of capital subscription

This procedure requires 3 days to complete and it will cost you 3% of your company’s declared capital. The declaration of capital subscription is mandatory in the registration process.

3. Register your company at Centre des Formalités de Entreprise (CEFORE)

For company registration, tax number (IFU), labor, and social security you need to address the Centre des Formalités de Entreprise. With a single application your company will be registered with the Trade Register and Personal Credit (RCCM), the fiscal authorities (at the Direction Générale des Impots) and Ministry of Commerce for professional license (carte professionnelle de commerçant). After submitting the form you will be issued an unique company identification number

The procedure requires 7 working days to be completed, but apparently, in practice, it can take longer.
The registration fee is 90.45USD or 47,500 XOF (West Africa Franc, CFA Franc)

That’s it!
Now, summing up: starting business in Burkina Faso requires 3 procedures, 13 working days and 90.45 USD in fees.

Are you in for the challenge?

Ebola vaccine

According to World Health Organization (WHO) Ebola vaccine testing will start in January in West Africa on a batch of more than 20.000 frontline health care workers. Although it may seem good news there is a big BUT involved.

Dr Marie Paule Kieny, WHO assistant director exposes the Organization’s main concerns 

“there is still a possibility that it [a vaccine] will fail”.

In parallel to the Ebola vaccine a blood serum is being developed based on Ebola survivors’ antibodies. 

“There are partnerships which are starting to be put in place to have capacity in the three countries to safely extract plasma and make preparation that can be used for the treatment of infective patients. The partnership which is moving the quickest will be in Liberia where we hope that in the coming weeks there will be facilities set up to collect the blood, treat the blood and be able to process it for use” Dr. Kieny declared.

Nevertheless even if the vaccine proves effective it appears that IT alone will not be enough to stop the outbreak. According to the latest news more than 4,500 people were killed by Ebola in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone since the fatal disease first stroke 10 months ago. Experts estimate that in the next two months 10.000 new cases a week could appear worldwide if protective measures are not properly implemented.

CDC announces new Ebola protecting rules. Finally!

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has decided to enforce new rules that supposedly will protect hospital workers from Ebola. It was about time!

Hospital workers who come in contact with Ebola patients must wear

-          double sets of gloves;

-          disposable hoods with full face shields;

-          special masks.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued these guidelines on October 20, 2014. Why so late? Well, because Ebola caught them off guard.
Let's see what officials have to say

"These are a major step forward in protecting workers from Ebola virus infection," said Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. "But these recommendations just by themselves do not make for a safer work environment," he continued. "Training is critical. We need to train people how to use PPE safely and effectively."

Well, what are you waiting for?

On numerous occasions nurses and other medical professionals have voiced their concern over the way they are supposed to treat Ebola patients. It now appears that the nurses who attended the first Ebola patient in Dallas, Thomas Eric Duncan, went in his room with their skin exposed. So it’s no wonder why they are currently under treatment.

Hopefully CDC’s new Ebola protecting guidelines will be enforced sooner than later.

What is your opinion on the subject? Do you think CDC’s reaction comes a bit late?

Seven things you must know about Ebola

Here are 7 main things that you should know about Ebola (Source:World Health Organization):

1. Ebola virus disease or EVD causes fatal illness in humans. Its first symptoms are fever fatigue, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. This common cold symptoms are then followed by vomiting, diarrhea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function, and in severe cases, both internal and external bleeding (gums and stool)
2. Wild animals are the main carries of Ebola. 
3. Around 50% of infested people die of Ebola (the average is based on former outbreaks) 
4. EVD first outbreak occurred in Central Africa, near tropical rainforest. The 2014 outbreak took place in West Africa near major urban and rural areas 
5. Controlling Ebola outbreak is tough and requires community engagement. The main pillars of EVD control are surveillance, timely tracing, good laboratory service, safe burial procedures and population involvement 
6. There is no treatment for Ebola but early detection can minimize deaths. Rehydration is the main form of keeping Ebola patients alive 
7. There are 2 potential vaccines for Ebola but they are currently under testing

Anonymous Ebola patient released from Emory University Hospital, Atlanta

According to Washington Post a new Ebola patient was released on October 19, 2014 from Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. He is the third Ebola suspected patient that walks out the hospital after receiving treatment.
The hospital has not released any information regarding this last person. No one know who he/she is or how has he/she come in contact with the fatal disease.

"The patient has asked to remain anonymous and left the hospital for an undisclosed location," the hospital appointee said. "He will make a statement at a later date."

However only last week this patient decided to assure people that Ebola is not deadly if found in time. Here's what he said:

"I anticipate being discharged very soon, free from the Ebola virus and able to return safely to my family and to my community. I want the public to know that although Ebola is a serious, complex disease, it is possible to recover and return to a healthy life. I wish to retain my anonymity for now, but I anticipate sharing more information in future weeks as I complete my recovery."

Ebola map for October 2014

World Health Organization has published the map with the confirmed and probable cases of Ebola for October 20, 2014
Here it is

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/ebola/maps/en/

Update on Ebola map for October 29, 2014

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/ebola/maps/en/

How to start a business in France

Bonjour mes amis! Do you want to start a business in France? Here’s what you should know.

France has a population of 65,696 million people and a GNI (Gross National Income) per capita of 41.750 USD. In 2014 World Bank placed France on the 38th position in the aggregate ranking on the ease of doing business (out of 189 economies).

Starting a business in France is relatively easy. Let’s see why:

• Where do you need to address to register your company?

The Centre de Formalités des Entreprises (CFE) handles all formalities related to your business registration

• How many days are necessary to complete all the legal procedures?

You need to wait 6.5 working days until your business becomes operational

• How many procedures are necessary to start a business?

5 procedures are necessary. Here they are (Source: www.doingbusiness.org):

1. Have your company’s name checked for uniqueness
To do this you can go online at the Institut National de la Propriété Industrielle (INPI) website (www.inpi.fr/)
Checking for company’s name uniqueness is not mandatory but in the long run it will save you time and money. If another company operates under the name you have chosen you can face a lawsuit. So it’s better to be safe than sorry. Moreover checking the name is free of charge. However if you want to check similar trademarks you need to pay 40 EUR for three classes and 400 EUR for all classes.

The procedure requires half a day to complete

2. Deposit the minimum capital required by legislation

To deposit the initial capital you can either address a public notary, the bank or the Deposit and Consignment Office (Caisse des Dépôt). Your capital will be blocked throughout the entire registration process.

This procedure takes 1 working day and is free of charge.

3. Publish a notice of your company’s incorporation

The notice of incorporation must include your company’s name, your name (or the name of the assigned manager), share capital and registered office. The planned publication will be communicated to you through a letter from the legal journal.

This procedure takes 1 working day to complete and its cost depends on the notice’s length (for 30 lines of 40 characters each you need to pay 5.48 EUR).

4. Address the Centre de Formalités des Entreprises (CFE) for your company’s registration
To register your company you need to address the Centre de Formalités des Entreprises (CFE). The Center is responsible for all business registration procedures. After submitting the request the CFE enlists your company with the Registre Nationale des Entreprise (Répertoire SIRENE) and obtains identification numbers from the RNE: SIRENE number (Systéme Informatique pour le Répertoire des Entreprises), SIRET number (Systéme Informatique pour le Répertoire des Etablissements) used mainly by tax authorities, and NAF number (Nomenclature des Activitees Francaises)

The procedure requires 4 days to complete and cots 83.96 EUR.

5. Buy company books, have them stamped and initialed by the clerk of the commercial court

Before you can legally operate your business you need to buy special accounting books. These books can be found at the commercial court or specialized stores. Before you can use them you need to make sure that they are certified by the Commercial Court.

The procedure takes 1 day to complete (simultaneously with the previous procedure) and it costs 45 EUR for three books (15 EUR per book) and 3.11 EUR stamping fee

Summing up: You can start a business in France in 6.5 days, following 5 procedures and paying 137.55 EUR in fees.

How to start a business in Canada

O Canada!!! You will feel like singing their national anthem when you’ll read how easy it is to start a business in Canada. But first things first; here are some facts about Canada.

Canada has a population of 34,880 million people and a GNI (Gross National Income) per capita of 50.970 USD. In 2014, World Bank placed Canada on the 19^th position in the aggregate ranking on the ease of doing business (out of 189 economies). Here is why:

• Where to address to register your company?

You can register your business online via Industry Canada’s online Electronic Filing Centre. That simple!

• How many days are necessary to complete all the legal procedures?

You need 1 day to file the paperwork but you need to wait 5 working days until you receive your license to practice

• How many procedures are necessary to start a business?

ONE. That’s right. Only one procedure and your business is up and running.So here is what do you need to do

Register your company via Industry Canada’s online Electronic Filing Centre

You can submit the application from the comfort of your home/office. You need to prepare a dossier with the following documents for federal incorporation and provincial registration (Source: www.doingbusiness.org):
1. Form 1: Articles of Incorporation
2. Form 2: Initial Registered Office Address and First Board of Directors
3. Provincial registration form.

If you want to conduct business in other Canadian province you need to register to that province as well.

The registration procedure will cost you 178USD.

To sum up: starting a business in Canada is quite easy. It requires 5 working days and 178 USD.

Now, don’t you feel like singing?

"O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.”