Video · From Cameroon
Can a Cameroonian Own a US LLC? Why the BEAC Comes First (2026)
Thinking of a US company from Cameroon? The care is at home and at the bank. Under the CEMAC exchange regulation, owning your own US company is a direct investment abroad, and a resident's direct investment abroad needs the BEAC's prior authorisation, before you invest. 4:42 long, published .
Transcript
What the video says
0:00Can a Cameroonian resident own a US LLC?
It's evening in Douala, and Armel has just sent a build to a client abroad. He writes software and wants to be paid in dollars, so he's looking at a US company. On the American side, he can have one from here. No social security number, and no trip to the US. We're BaseAcross. We set up US companies for founders outside America, so we'll be straight with you. From Cameroon, the surprise is at home.
Owning your own US company counts as a direct investment abroad, and that needs the BEAC's authorisation before you invest.
0:33Do I need a US company to get paid in dollars from Cameroon?
Does he need one at all? For a founder paid by clients abroad, the guide's first advice is to check the bank. The big card processor doesn't take Cameroonian businesses, so a US company is often how founders here get paid. But a US company without a bank account can't take payments, or even apply to that processor. Armel sells his work to clients abroad, so the guide's answer for him is a Wyoming LLC, after advice.
One fair question for your adviser is whether a Cameroonian company would serve you better.
1:05Do I need the BEAC's permission to own a US company?
The rule behind this is the CEMAC exchange regulation, as the BEAC publishes it. A direct investment abroad means ten percent or more of a non-resident company, with control or notable influence. Owning your own US company is one, and a resident's direct investment abroad needs the BEAC's prior authorisation. Two more rules sit beside that. Your own accounts abroad are declared to the BEAC.
If you wind it up, you declare that within thirty days, and money not reinvested abroad comes home within thirty days, through an approved bank. How to apply is for the BEAC, your bank and your adviser.
1:44Wyoming LLC or Delaware C-Corp, and an EIN without an SSN
With that in hand, forming the company is the simpler part. A Wyoming LLC suits an owner-run business paid by clients abroad, once a bank is in view. A Delaware C-Corp suits raising from US investors. It needs a registered agent, an address in that state for legal papers, not where you work. Then the EIN, its US tax number. Without a social security number or an ITIN, the application goes on a separate IRS form instead of the online tool.
You'll pay in US dollars, so ask your bank whether it can make the payment, and check its rate and fees.
2:18Where can a US company from Cameroon bank?
Now the bank, the hard part from Cameroon. A US fintech bank doesn't open accounts for founders living here. Cameroon is on its list of countries it doesn't serve, and the list goes by where you live. A multi-currency account provider gives no US dollar account details to founders living in Cameroon. Another US business account doesn't bar Cameroon, but it asks every owner for a physical US address. Each provider decides for itself, so ask any other provider before you order.
With an account, Armel could apply to the card processor. It reviews him, and it can decline.
2:55How does Cameroon tax me on the US company?
Then Cameroonian tax. You're domiciled here if your home or main stay is here, among other tests. Residents declare their worldwide income, including dividends from a foreign company. Here's the guide's illustration. Armel owns all of his LLC, with the BEAC's authorisation, and it pays him a dividend of three million CFA francs. It's taxed as income from capital, at the normal rate plus the communal surcharge. That's an illustration, not a quote.
How Cameroon classifies the LLC can change it, and your conseil fiscal decides.
3:29Is there a US–Cameroon tax treaty?
Then the American side. There's no income tax treaty between the US and Cameroon. US dividends, interest and royalties paid to you are withheld in the US, unless a US exemption applies. Pay for work you do in Cameroon generally isn't US income, so a US company with no US office or staff often owes no US income tax on it. A single-owner LLC still files a report with the IRS when it has reportable transactions with you. Money you put in or take out can count, and missing it is expensive.
For a calendar-year company, it's usually due in mid-April, and there's a form to ask for more time, filed before the deadline.
4:08What to do first, in order
So, the order. Start on the Cameroonian side. Ask your bank and your conseil fiscal about the BEAC's authorisation, and find a bank that will open for the company. Only then form it and get the EIN. Keep the authorisation with the company's records, and put the IRS report and your Cameroonian return on one calendar. The full guide, with every source and a checklist for your conseil fiscal in English and French, is linked below.
And Armel? He's starting with the bank and the BEAC, before he orders a thing.
The founder in the video is an example, not a customer. The rules in it were checked when it was made; the guide carries the current sources.
The guide
Costs, documents, timelines and the rules in Cameroon, with sources.
Read the guide for CameroonWatch on YouTube