Doing Business in Kenya

“Kenya at a Glance”

Did you know that the World Bank has identified Kenya as one of the top two countries for ease of doing business in East Africa? One reason might be because English is universally spoken and understood in Kenya, in part, because English is the medium of instruction in Kenya. Thus, foreign investors who have a reasonable command of English readily find local workers with whom they may communicate directly and may communicate directly and confidentially with government officials.

Kenya, the financial, technical and communications hub in East Africa, has the largest economy in the East African Community and, since 2004, has enjoyed an average 6% growth rate, but it still has great potential owing, in part, it being only the 65th largest economy with an estimated per capita GDP of $1,991. Thus, payroll expenses are modest in comparison to more developed economies and there is a large pool of English-speaking, skilled workers. For example, roughly 20% of high school graduates continue their education, the literacy rate is XX% and virtually all high school graduates are fluent in English, Swahili and a local language. Unfortunately, however, for them, all too many are under employed and, thus, would welcome the opportunity to become a committed employee of a foreign firm.
Registering a company in Kenya opens the door the East Africa Community’s 150 million, as well as most of North Africa and all of southern Africa. Three regional free trade zones joined together in 2008 to create a free trade zone from Libya in the north, across North Africa to Egypt and south from Egypt to South Africa, encompassing all of the countries in the horn of Africa as well. The combined GDP is $145 billion USD.

Kenya is attractive for foreign direct investment due to the following factors;
• Macro-economic Stability, enjoying relatively high year-on-year GDP growth year
• Supportive Demographic Dividend: a young population with increasing disposable income and growing demand for goods and services;
• Improvement in Governance: The Kenyan Government has enacted key political reforms that are strengthening governance;
• Ease of Doing Business: In the past decade, bureaucratic obstacles have been reduced, making it quicker to do business than previously while improving a supportive infrastructure;
• A multi-national market: Kenya, being located in the middle of East Africa, is equidistant from the vibrant South African economy and the populous Egyptian economy;
• Investment in Infrastructure: Kenyans businesses benefit from an on-going massive investment in infrastructure including roads, rail, education, etc. and
• A straight-forward Tax Regime: personal income tax ranging from 0 to 30 %, the corporation rate is 30% and Vat at 16%.

Rayness Analytica – LLC offers the following Key Company Set Up Services in Kenya;

• Company Registration in Kenya,
• Government Licenses Processing,
• Opening business bank account,
• HR Recruitment and Management,
• Work Permit Processing and
• Apartment/Office/Warehouse Sourcing.
• Applications of Visas on arrival.

Company Registration Summary for Subsidiary or Branch

How long does the company registration process take? 10 days
How long does it take to open a corporate bank account? 5 days
Are multi-currency bank accounts available? yes
After how long may one invoice and hire? 15 days
Minimum number of directors and shareholders? 1
Must the foreign investor have a local partner/shareholder? No
Is a local director required? Yes
Must the local director be a shareholder? No
May foreign staff be hired? Yes
May work permits be secured for foreign directors and staff? Yes
Is Tax Identification Registration required? Yes
Does Kenya have tax treaties to avoid double taxation? Yes
May foreign-owned entities bid for government contracts? Yes
Are foreign-owned entities eligible for export financing? Yes
May foreign-owned entities secure import or export licences? Yes
Is conversion to a PLC hassle-free? Yes

Other Legal Services

S e r v i c e s

Our aim is to provide business – legal services at the highest professional level, capable of rendering effective solutions mainly in the following areas:
1. Corporate Law
2. Competition law
3. Business law and Property law
4. Labor law
5. Public procurement
6. Company registration
7. Market research
8. Management consulting
9. Opening corporate bank accounts
10. Branding and Marketing
11. Account and Tax Reporting
12. Mergers, Acquisitions and Company Buyouts
13. Professional business planning
14. Latest Technological updates
15. UN Sustainable Development Goals

Into finer details

Corporate law

Gained experience and professional prerequisites acquired in the Kenyan legal and business environment enable our office to provide business – legal services in the following areas:

– Implementation of corporate governance principles
– Restructuring of companies
– Mergers & Acquisitions, transaction documentation included
– Legal advisor for Mergers & Acquisitions transactions
– Due diligence according to the scope of business
– Legal support for risk management

Competition law and state aid law
Competition law has an impact on each business entity. In order to provide complex consultancy this branch is an integral part of our services

– Legal advisory in unfair trade
– Appraisal of possible impacts of competition law on activities of an entrepreneur
– Legal advisory in the area of infrastructure
– Appraisal of the negative aspects of the abuse of the dominant position
– Legal advisory in public law.

Business law and Property law
We render our services to Kenyan and foreign clients; thereby we support them and secure their due performance of business activities as well as the protection of their rights and rightful interests. In the area of Business law and Property law, we mainly perform the following:

– Preparation and analysis of contracts and contractual relationships
– Preparation of sample agreements and general business terms, effective setting of contractual relations for the future
– Protection of assets
– Legal appraisal of property structure and identification of risky areas
– Due diligence of contractual relations
– Legal advisory for creditors during execution of their rights

Labor law
The area of Labour law is one of the most risky spheres of the management of an entrepreneur. In order to enhance their protection, we provide the following

– Legal advisory during effective setting of HR relations
– Elaboration of internal rules of a company and preparation of the system of its control
– Legal advisory in the area of management contracts
– Preparation and performance of the HR audit of a company
– Representation in labor law disputes

Public procurement
Public procurement is often underestimated. We believe that one condition of successful business activity is knowledge of legal rights and duties. Our services can be used as follows:
– Legal appraisal of conditions for participation in public procurement and criteria for appraisal
– Legal advisory during the preparation of a proposal
– Representation of a participant in an objection procedure

PROTECTION OF CLIENTS
We perceive the confidence of our clients as one of our most important assets of our company. We do not neglect insurance in our work; in the case of bigger projects we increase this insurance to a level required by our client.

We hope that this presentation of our company has interested you. Should you have any questions, please contact us. We will be proud if you turn to us with confidence.

Our Pride Arises Out of Solving Your Tomorrow’s Africa’s Business Problems Today!