Promote:
Invest in Guinea
A short guide for companies expanding into Guinea: the economy at a glance, the rules and steps to set up, and who can help, each with its source.
1. Guinea at a glance
PopulationEstimate
15.1 million
Guinea had 15,099,727 people in 2025.
Source: World Bank WDI, Guinea population, 2025 (opens in a new tab) · as of 2025
GDPEstimate
US$28.3 billion
GDP was US$28.35 billion in 2025, in current dollars.
Source: World Bank WDI, Guinea GDP, 2025 (opens in a new tab) · as of 2025
GDP per personEstimate
US$1,877
GDP per person was US$1,877 in 2025, in current dollars.
Source: World Bank WDI, Guinea GDP per person, 2025 (opens in a new tab) · as of 2025
Real GDP growthEstimate
7.4%
Real GDP growth was 7.4 percent in 2025, the World Bank reports.
Source: World Bank WDI, Guinea real GDP growth, 2025 (opens in a new tab) · as of 2025
Inflation
5.9%
Consumer prices rose 5.9 percent over twelve months to September 2026 nationwide, INS reports.
Source: INS Guinée, consumer price index, September 2026 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of September 2026
Foreign direct investment inflowsEstimate
US$7.76 billion
Inward foreign direct investment was US$7,763.452 million in 2025, UNCTAD reports.
Source: UNCTADstat, Guinea inward investment flows, 2025 (opens in a new tab) · as of 2025
The currency is the Guinean franc.
Source: WTO, Trade Policy Review of Guinea, Secretariat report, 2018 (opens in a new tab) · as of April 24, 2018
2. Before you set up
The investment agency, any one-stop route, the sectors reserved for nationals and the zones, as the guide found them.
The investment promotion agency is the Guinea Development Board (GDB), whose leadership was installed on March 24, 2026.
Source: Presidency of Guinea, GDB leadership installed, March 2026 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of March 24, 2026
The Guinea Development Board describes itself as Guinea’s one-stop shop for investors, set up by presidential decree under the Simandou 2040 program.
Source: GDB, home page (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
Foreign investors may hold up to 40 percent of companies that publish news or political periodicals or broadcast television or radio; elsewhere they may hold up to 100 percent.
Source: Official Journal scan, Investment Code, Law L/2015/008/AN (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
As of 2018, per the WTO review, Guinea had one special economic zone created by decree, at Boké, and four zones declared industrial.
Source: WTO, Trade Policy Review of Guinea, Secretariat report, 2018 (opens in a new tab) · as of April 24, 2018
3. Steps to set up
The main steps, in order, each with the body responsible and its official page.
Setting up in Guinea
- Reserve a trade name and register the company on the national business registration platform.Guinea Development Board (GDB)Official page (opens in a new tab)
Source: Synergui, national business registration platform (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
- Obtain a tax identification number (NIF) from the tax authority and use its eTax portal.Direction Générale des Impôts (DGI)Official page (opens in a new tab)
Source: DGI Guinée, document library (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
- Apply for an investment certificate on the PLAGED platform and present the project to the review committee.Agence de Promotion des Investissements Privés (APIP)Application fee 5,000,000 to 20,000,000 Guinean francs by project sizeOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: APIP page, Investment Code procedure and fees (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
- Obtain the sector authorization if the activity is on the Code's Article 5 list.Ministère sectoriel compétent (Code des investissements, article 5)Official page (opens in a new tab)
Source: Official Journal scan, Investment Code, Law L/2015/008/AN (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
Show 3 more set-up steps
- Obtain residence and work permits for expatriate staff, which the Code says the State guarantees for the contract period.Autorités compétentes (Code des investissements, article 18)Official page (opens in a new tab)
Source: Official Journal scan, Investment Code, Law L/2015/008/AN (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
- Arrange land access under Guinean land law; private-domain state land may be sold, leased or contributed to a company.Autorités compétentes (Code des investissements, article 16)Official page (opens in a new tab)
Source: Official Journal scan, Investment Code, Law L/2015/008/AN (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
- Transfer profits and dividends abroad without prior authorization; declare share sales to the finance ministry beforehand.Ministère en charge des FinancesOfficial page (opens in a new tab)
Source: Official Journal scan, Investment Code, Law L/2015/008/AN (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
4. Organizations that help investors
Start with GDB and DGD. Each card links to the organization’s own site.
Each card says what it can help with:Get adviceFind financeMeet requirementsResearch markets
Investment and business setup
- Get advice
Investment and export agency
GDB
Guinea Development Board (Agence Guinéenne de Développement)
Serves as the investors’ one-stop shop and covers investment promotion, tourism, local content and exports, by its own description.
Visit GDB (opens in a new tab)Source: GDB, home page (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
Investor one-stop desk
APIP
Agence de Promotion des Investissements Privés
Runs the investors’ one-stop desk for company setup, business support and Investment Code files; the GDB’s site links it as APIP’s one-stop shop.
Visit APIP (opens in a new tab)Source: APIP, home page (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
Customs and tax
- Meet requirements
Customs administration
DGD
Direction Générale des Douanes
Receives the export customs declaration and gives the "Vu et bon à exporter" visa, as the 2023 export order describes.
Visit DGD (opens in a new tab)Source: Ministry order on cashew, coffee, cocoa exports, 2023 (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of January 18, 2023
- Meet requirements
Tax authority
DGI
Direction Générale des Impôts
Runs tax registration and the eTax portal for companies.
Visit DGI (opens in a new tab)Source: DGI Guinée, document library (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
Show 2 more organizations
- Meet requirements
Central bank
BCRG
Banque Centrale de la République de Guinée
Sets exchange-rate policy and reports on how much export revenue is repatriated.
Visit BCRG (opens in a new tab)Source: BCRG, governor speech on the 2026 budget law (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of March 30, 2026
- Get advice
Shippers' council
CGC
Conseil Guinéen des Chargeurs
Assists shippers and works to control transport costs and ease maritime traffic.
Visit CGC (opens in a new tab)Source: Guinean Shippers’ Council, home page (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
Chambers and industry associations
- Get advice
Chamber of commerce
CCIAG
Chambre de Commerce, d'Industrie et d'Artisanat de Guinée
Represents businesses as the national chamber of commerce, industry and crafts, and helps the statistics office reach companies for the 2026 enterprise census.
5. Worth knowing
Export concentration
INS reports that gold and bauxite were close to 93.0 percent of 2024 exports, and the World Bank says new jobs need growth outside mining.
What to do: Check demand and rules in your own sector with INS data and the investment agency before you size a project.
Sources: INS Guinée, foreign trade yearbook 2024 (in French) (opens in a new tab); World Bank, Guinea Economic Update 2026, October 2026 (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
Reserved sectors
Foreign holdings in companies that publish news or political periodicals or broadcast television or radio are capped at 40 percent, and managers must be resident Guinean nationals.
What to do: Check the Code's sector rules and licensing list before you agree shareholder terms.
Source: Official Journal scan, Investment Code, Law L/2015/008/AN (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
Investment agency change
The Presidency installed the Guinea Development Board as the national investment platform on March 24, 2026, while the former APIP pages still describe the Code procedure.
What to do: Confirm with the GDB which desk takes your investment certificate file before you submit it.
Sources: Presidency of Guinea, GDB leadership installed, March 2026 (in French) (opens in a new tab); APIP page, Investment Code procedure and fees (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of March 24, 2026
Inflation and exchange rates
INS measured annual inflation at 5.9 percent in September 2026, above the 5 percent ECOWAS threshold that the central bank governor cited in March 2026.
What to do: Recheck inflation and exchange-rate data before you set prices or budgets in Guinean francs.
Sources: INS Guinée, consumer price index, September 2026 (in French) (opens in a new tab); BCRG, governor speech on the 2026 budget law (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
Show 1 more
Local content
The Code requires investors to hire only local labor for unqualified work and to give priority to national suppliers and subcontractors.
What to do: Prepare local hiring and supplier sourcing before you apply for the Code's incentives.
Source: Official Journal scan, Investment Code, Law L/2015/008/AN (in French) (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026
6. How Promote:Global helps
- Compare Guinea with other countriesSet Guinea beside other countries on investment momentum, fundamentals and trade access, before site, tax and legal work.
- Find advisors and service firmsAsk an advisory firm a scoped, paid question, or browse firms that list their own services, from legal work to logistics.
- Organize your next stepsKeep each product and market in a project, with a roadmap of steps you work through.
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Promote:Guinea is an independent guide by Promote:Global, not an official government portal. The organizations named here are independent public and membership bodies, not Promote:Global partners, and every link goes to their own site.
Facts read from public sources, with an editorial cut-off of October 31, 2026. Nothing here is investment, legal, tax or sanctions advice. Check current status with the organization before you rely on it.