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Africa as a continent has consistently delivered elevated growth rates over the last decade and is increasingly being seen as a major growth opportunity for corporates and investors who are looking to expand into new markets and build global businesses. Benefitting from these new opportunities across key sectors requires guidance through the diverse challenges of this vast continent. For over 50 years, CMS’s lawyers have developed a track record of significant deals in Africa. This means we know the legal systems, the economies and the professionals on the ground.

CMS brings together our firms with local roots and experts around a unique model and aligned practices to provide our clients with the best support in Africa. We have a presence in the most dynamic regional hubs – Casablanca, Johannesburg and Nairobi – providing us with strong regional footprint, sustained by offices in Algiers, Luanda and Mombasa. CMS Africa offers the ideal alternative for tax and legal services in Africa, a position that is being reinforced through new expansions.

CMS has over 4,800 lawyers working in more than 40 countries worldwide. Our Africa practice utilises the experience of this global coverage to advise on African matters with local and international clients who wish to invest in the region. The diverse approach comes from our position as one of the largest law firms worldwide. This means we are able to cover your needs across the whole continent.

CMS can provide you with advice on local laws across most jurisdictions as well as pan-African laws and structures such as OHADA, WAEMU and CEMAC. Our Africa practice has a deep understanding of the key financial and economic shifts in the region. This includes the emergence of agriculture and agribusiness, leisure, consumer goods, services and telecommunications and infrastructure development and operation as key growth areas for the continent. Our market-leading energy, infrastructure and natural resources practice also provides a significant insight into the development of the energy, oil and gas and mining sectors in Africa.

Contact us via our online form or give us a call if you are seeking experienced legal experts to help you successfully grow and expand your business interests in Africa.

Belt and Road: The View from Africa
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27/09/2023
CMS South Africa’s closes landmark acquisition as lead legal advisor that...
In recognition of World Rhino Day on 22 September CMS South Africa is proud to announce that we were very recently approached by African Parks Network to be the lead legal advisor on a critical acquisition...
25/09/2023
Potential Penalty for Violating Data Breach Notification Timelines
One of the region’s leading retail outlets may be faced with a potential penalty of up to USD 40,000 for its failure to notify the Data Protection Commissioner of a data breach within 72 hours as required...
25/09/2023
CMS Expert Guide to Public Takeovers
Cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have been and continue to be a fact of life for international public companies and their investors.  Valuations of listed companies are, by their very nature...
Comparable
22/09/2023
Armed Forces Day
19/09/2023
An economy in a crisis: Job cuts, cost cutting and restructuring
The convergence of a number of global issues including the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine has had a devastating impact on economies around the world. South Africa, as with many other countries...
18/09/2023
Approval of the new Labor Law
The dynamics of social relations have evolved at a rapid rate in recent times.Along with environmental changes, epidemics and the evolution of technology, the responses to these challenges have led to new ways of looking at these realities and, as a result, it has led to new models and formats for labour relations.After several years of hesitation, progress and setbacks, as well as the social dynamics that filled the world, a new law was recently approved, Law 13/2023 of the 25th of August, the Labour Law.The following have been made subject to the written form: employment contracts on commission, work at home contracts, manual labour construction contract, temporary work, labour brokering employment contract, intermittent work contracts and teleworking.The probationary period regime has undergone changes, as has the establishment of legal consequences for the use of legally prohibited means of obtaining evid­ence.Moreover, paternity leave of seven days has been established in the event of the birth of a child and 60 days in the event of the death or incapacity of the parent.The system for hiring foreign workers for non-profit organisations was strengthened, as well as the system for multiple employers and multi-em­ploy­ment.The legal regime for intermittent work contracts and teleworking was introduced, and working hours were established on an alternating basis.The system for suspending employment contracts due to force majeure and unforeseeable circumstances has been established.A wide range of rights and duties of those involved in labour relations have been established, strengthened and clarified, such as the compensation system in cases of termination of the employment contract on the employer's initiative with prior notice, the establishment of a justifiable reason for absence in the event of the death of parents-in-law, sons-in-law and daugh­ters-in-law, as well as the suspension of the limitation period during maternity and paternity leave or illness that makes it impossible for the employee to attend work.This law comes into force on the 21st of February 2024, 180 days after the date of its publication.
15/09/2023
Changes to Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) Laws in Kenya
The signing of the Anti-Money Laundering and Combating of Terrorism Financing Bill into law has instituted widespread changes in the Limited Liability Partnerships Act of 2011 (LLP Act). The amendments...
14/09/2023
Happy Mozambican Lawyer´s Day
06/09/2023
Lusaka Agreement Day
06/09/2023
Significant Changes in Kenya’s Digital Economy: Cabinet Secretary Eliminates...
16/08/2023
CMS Expert Guide to whistleblower protection & reporting channels
In October 2019, in the wake of a number of whistleblower revelations (especially the industrial-scale tax avoidance schemes revealed in the LuxLeaks scandal), the European Union adopted the Whis­tleblower...
Comparable
11/08/2023
CMS Expert Guide to International Arbitration
We live in a connected global environment where the number and complexity of international transactions is ever increasing.  As a consequence, the policies and activities in one area of the world can...