• The 15,453 registrations include, 8,832 business names, 6, 553 limited companies and 27 foreign companies.
• There has been increased number of business registrations in agriculture, forestry and fishing.
• PACRA recorded a 6% decline in compliance levels for annual return submissions during the first half of 2021.

Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA) has registered over 15,000 businesses in the first half of 2021, reflecting an 18.7% increase compared to 12,890 during the same period last year.
Agency Business Development Manager Vaida Njobvu told Money FM News that the 15,453 registrations include, 8,832 business names, 6, 553 limited companies and 27 foreign companies.
Ms. Njobvu said there has been an increase in the number of business registrations in agriculture, forestry and fishing while the wholesale & retail trade and financial & insurance sectors have continued to top the trends.
She noted that the Agency recorded a 6% decline in compliance levels for annual return submissions during the first half of 2021 as compared to the same period last year.
Ms Njobvu added that during the first half of 2021, only 42,206 businesses filed their annual returns while 44,925 entities filed annual returns during the same period last year.
“In relation to the Collateral Registry, the Agency registered a total of 502 financing statements during the first half of the year. The low number of financing statements registered could be attributed to the reluctance by most financing institutions to lend against movable property especially during this Covid-19 pandemic when most businesses are struggling to survive financially,” Ms. Njobvu said.
Ms. Njobvu also stated that the Agency has continued receiving applications for the protection of various Intellectual Property Rights.
“To this end, 1,117 Trademarks were registered while 991 were renewed. Further, 4 patents were granted while 53 were renewed during the period under review. PACRA further registered 34 Industrial Designs and renewed 5 in the first half of 2021,” she explained.
She further noted that the Agency only recorded 59 Copyright registrations and affixed 1,137 Holograms on audio-visual works which has led to a significant drop in comparison to the same period last year.
Ms. Njobvu urged the business community to formalize their businesses and protect their Intellectual Property Rights in order to contribute to economic growth and national development.