Starting a business in Egypt
GAFI’s one-stop handles the company, the tax card follows, and the e-invoice mandate now reaches everyone - the sequence is firm even where the details shift.
Checked against the sources on 2026-08-30
Before anything else
Egyptian founding runs through two authorities: GAFI (the investment authority) for companies via its one-stop shops and electronic platform, and the Egyptian Tax Authority for the tax card and registrations that make the business real to the state. A sole establishment (منشأة فردية) registers more simply through the commercial registry with a tax card attached.
Two modernisations matter to a new founder: the e-invoicing mandate has been extended in waves until it now effectively covers all registered businesses - onboarding to the e-invoice portal is part of founding, not an afterthought - and the micro/small enterprise law (152/2020) offers simplified flat taxes for small turnover, worth checking before defaulting to the general regime.
The legal shell
Sole establishment or LLC?
Sole establishment
Solo local trade and services.
Commercial registry and chamber fees - modest, in the low thousands of EGP with help.
No liability shield; the owner and the establishment are one taxpayer.
LLC (ذ.م.م)
Partners, contracts, foreign shareholding (permitted in most sectors).
GAFI one-stop incorporation; no meaningful statutory minimum capital for most activities; professional help commonly EGP 15,000-40,000 all-in.
A local auditor and legal address are required; some sectors (importation for trading) still carry Egyptian-ownership quotas.
The sequence
Clear the name and file at GAFI
Where: GAFI one-stop or its e-incorporation portalTakes: Days for a standard LLC
Articles from the standard forms, a bank certificate where capital is deposited, and the security clearance for foreign shareholders (a background step that sets the real timeline).
Tax card and registrations
Where: The Egyptian Tax Authority
The tax card is the operating identity. VAT registration is compulsory past EGP 500,000 of annual turnover (14% standard rate); the simplified small-enterprise regimes price turnover below thresholds at flat amounts or low percentages.
Onboard to e-invoicing / e-receipts
Register on the ETA’s electronic invoicing platform and issue through it - B2B by e-invoice, B2C progressively by e-receipt. Deductibility on the customer side enforces it commercially.
Social insurance and the operating layer
Employer registration with the National Organisation for Social Insurance accompanies the first hire; commercial premises meet the usual municipal licensing by activity.
What it costs to start
| What | Amount |
|---|---|
| Sole establishment | Low thousands EGP with help |
| LLC via GAFI | EGP 15,000-40,000 all-in typical |
| VAT thresholdCompulsory registration above. | EGP 500,000 |
The words on the forms
- GAFI
- The investment authority and its one-stop shops.
- Tax card (البطاقة الضريبية)
- The tax identity every business shows.
- ETA
- The Egyptian Tax Authority and its e-invoice platform.
- Law 152/2020
- The MSME law with the simplified small-business taxes.
- Commercial registry (السجل التجاري)
- Where establishments and companies are recorded.
The traps
- Treating e-invoicing as optional because the business is small - the waves have reached everyone registered.
- Foreign-shareholder security clearance not budgeted into the timeline.
- Importation-for-trade ownership quotas discovered after structuring.
- Numbers from guides older than the last currency move.
Where to check this yourself
- GAFIIncorporation and the one-stop.
- Egyptian Tax AuthorityTax card, VAT, e-invoicing.
This is a map, not legal or tax advice - and an honest one about how it was drawn: the Germany guide was written by a person who walked the route; most other countries were drafted with AI against the official sources and have not yet been walked by someone who did it. Laws change. Every guide carries the date it was last checked and the sources to check it yourself - and if you have been through one of these routes, your corrections are exactly what this handbook wants.