Investing in Mali: the Investment Code and API-Mali's advantages

Mali has adopted an Investment Code designed to encourage productive projects, with a system of approval regimes offering increasing tax and customs advantages depending on the size and nature of the investment. The **Agence pour la Promotion des Investissements au Mali (API-Mali)** supports project holders throughout this process.

> **In summary**
> - **Legal framework**: Mali's Investment Code defines several approval regimes (A, B, C, D) offering increasing advantages depending on the amount invested.
> - **Main advantages**: tax exemptions on profits, customs duty exemption on imported equipment for a set period, substantial reductions on local taxes.
> - **Special economic zones**: companies that set up there, with their tax headquarters and main activity on site, benefit from extended advantages for **10 years**.
> - **Support**: API-Mali guides project holders from preparing the file through filing and following up on the approval application.

## 1. What the Investment Code offers

Mali's Investment Code aims to make the country more attractive to investors, both local and foreign, through a set of tax and customs incentives. Concrete advantages include:

- **Tax exemptions on profits** for a set period, meant to maximize a project's initial profitability.
- **Customs duty exemption on imported equipment**, a particularly significant advantage for industrial or agro-industrial projects requiring costly machinery.
- **Substantial reductions on local taxes.**
- **Tax credits** for investments made in sectors deemed priority or innovative.

## 2. The approval regimes: A, B, C, D

The Code describes several approval regimes, labeled A, B, C, and D, offering differentiated advantages — notably tax exemptions and easier access to capital transfers — depending on the amount of the investment. Company rehabilitation by new promoters also benefits from specific advantages under these same regimes.

There is also the option of obtaining a simple **investment authorization**, issued by the minister in charge of Industry and Commerce, without necessarily receiving the tax and customs advantages of regimes A through D. This authorization nonetheless confers recognized status on the company, useful in its dealings with the administration and economic partners.

## 3. Special economic zones

Mali also provides a separate regime for companies setting up in **special economic zones**. These companies only benefit from the associated advantages if their tax headquarters is established in the zone and their activity is mainly carried out there. In exchange, they benefit for **ten years** from the advantages provided under this regime, a noticeably longer period than the standard exemptions under regimes A through D.

## 4. API-Mali's support role

Beyond formalizing the business (see our guide on the One-Stop Shop), API-Mali also supports project holders in obtaining approval under the Investment Code. This support covers preparing the file, filing it with the relevant authorities, and following up on its review, with the aim of facilitating access to the advantages on offer and encouraging productive investment in Mali.

## 5. Who this framework is for

The Investment Code is open to both Malian and foreign investors wishing to develop a productive activity in Mali — industry, agro-industry, or other sectors eligible under the priorities set by the authorities. A modest project, such as a sole proprietorship with no need for heavy equipment, generally doesn't need to go through these approval regimes and can rely on standard registration through API-Mali's One-Stop Shop instead.

## FAQ

### Does the Investment Code apply to foreign investors?
Yes, the framework is open to both Malian and foreign investors wishing to develop a productive activity meeting the eligibility criteria set out in the Code.

### What's the difference between an investment authorization and approval under regimes A through D?
An investment authorization confers recognized status on the company without necessarily granting access to tax and customs advantages. Approval under regimes A through D, on the other hand, grants specific exemptions and advantages depending on the amount invested.

### Do I need approval to start a small sole proprietorship in Mali?
No, a sole proprietorship with no need for special tax advantages can stick to the standard registration procedure through API-Mali's One-Stop Shop, without going through the Investment Code's approval regimes.

### What is the advantage of special economic zones over the standard regimes?
Companies set up in a special economic zone, with their tax headquarters and main activity on site, benefit from the associated advantages for ten years, a longer period than typically associated with the standard approval regimes.

Sources: [UNCTAD Investment Laws Navigator — Mali Investment Code](https://investmentpolicy.unctad.org/investment-laws/laws/258/mali-code-des-investissements), [API-Mali — Code advantages](http://www.apimali.gov.ml/index.php?page=avantage-du-code), [Le Monde du Droit — Mali's new Investment Code](https://www.lemondedudroit.fr/decryptages/5395-nouveau-code-des-investissements-au-mali.html)