Paul Masena

Mr Conductor Paul Masena was appointed as the inaugural Registrar General of CIPA in August 2013. He is charged with driving the strategic direction of the Authority and ensuring that CIPA delivers its mandate as per the Companies and Intellectual Property Authority Act, 2011. Mr Masena joined the then Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property Authority (ROCIP) in 1999 as a Commercial Officer and rose through the ranks to Commercial Officer – Head of Companies and Business Names (2001), Senior Commercial Officer – Head of Copyright Section (2003), Principal Commercial Officer – Head of Companies Division (2007), Deputy Registrar (2009), Registrar (2011), until he become the Registrar General at the newly created parastatal (CIPA). He is credited with putting in place processes that significantly reduced the turn-around times for registering companies in Botswana, spearheading the amendments of the Companies Act, Copyright Act and the Industrial Property Act, and leading the transformation of ROCIP to an autonomous body. Mr Masena has also cemented CIPA’s relationship with international bodies such as the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO) and the Corporate Registers Forum among others, ensuring that all CIPA activities are based on international standards.