Company Registration in Kenya |  Register a Company in Kenya | How to Open a company in Kenya | Procedure for Registering a company in Kenya | Private Company Registration in Kenya

Company Registration in Kenya | Registration of a limited Company in Kenya – The Kenyan government has streamlined the process of company registration in Kenya. Whether you’re a Kenyan citizen or a foreign business owner looking to embark on registering a company in Kenya, the company registration process in Kenya is now online and takes between 5 and 7 working days to complete.

How to register a company in Kenya Online | How to form a company in Kenya | How to open a company in Kenya | Company Registration Procedure in Kenya|9 Easy Steps

Here is the Procedure for registering a company in Kenya

Step 1: Login on eCitizen.

The eCitizen is the portal where Online Company Registration in Kenya is carried out. It’s free to use and easy to navigate. If you do not have an ecitizen account, then you will need to signup using your email address, Kenyan ID Number or Travel Passport Number

 Step 2: Navigate to the Business Registration Service.

Select the Business Registration Service and proceed to make an application.

  Step 3: Choose a business type to register.

Once you’re in the Business Registration Service, make an application and choose the type of business you’d like to create. The Options Available include;

• – Business Name
• – Private Limited Company
• – Public Limited Company
• – Company Limited by Guarantee
• – Limited Liability Partnership
• – Foreign Company Registration in Kenya

Step 4: Add at least 3 Proposed Company Names.

The minimum number of names that you can add is 3 and the maximum is 5. Be keen to add the names in the order of priority since the registrar will approve the first available name. The names may be rejected if it is too close to a name of an already-registered Kenyan business.

Step 5: Fill out the Articles of Association Details.

Here you add details of the applicant and their capacity, Select whether to adopt the general articles of association as captured in the Companies’ act of 2015, Add the Nature of the business, Select the Primary business activity, Business start date, Accounting period end Month and Estimated Annual turnover.

Step 6: Add the Registered Address

Here you will specify the registered address ie County, District, Locality, Name of Building, Street, Postal Address, Postal Code, Mobile Number and company email address.

Step 7: Add the share information.

Here you specify the share category, Number of shares and the value of each share. The minimum share capital is KSH 100,000 and there is no Maximum. It is however mandatory to appoint a company secretary if the share capital is more than KSH 5 Million.

Step 8: Add Shareholders and Directors Details

Some of the required info include Designation, National ID Number / Travel Passport, Date of Birth, Phone number, Email address, Occupation, residential address, Passport size photograph and the number of shares assigned.

After this you will also add the beneficial owners if at all they are different from the shareholders added. A Beneficial owner is any natural person holding at least 10% of the issued shares or any person that exercises at least 10% of the voting rights in a company directly or indirectly.

Step 9:  Download and sign the registration documents

Here you will download the registration documents, confirm that the data captured is correct and then go ahead and sign against your name. After Signing you will then go ahead and upload clearly scanned documents and then make payment.

If all the information is dully submitted, the registrar will approve the company in 7 day or less. Once approved, you will then go ahead and download your company registration certificate and form Cr 12 showing the list of shareholders and directors

Company Registration requirements in Kenya | Requirements for company registration in Kenya | Requirements to register a Company in Kenya | Requirements for registration of a private limited Company in Kenya | Company Registration in Kenya Requirements | Documents Required for Company Registration in Kenya

The requirements for registering a limited company in Kenya include the following;

1. – At least 3 Company Names
2. – Business Objectives
3. – National Id Card Copy / Travel Passport copy of all the Directors, Shareholders and Beneficial Owners.
4. – Passport-size photos of all the Directors, Shareholders and Beneficial Owners.
5. – Physical Addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and occupations of all Directors, Shareholders and Beneficial Owners.

Company registration fees in Kenya | Cost of company Registration in Kenya | How much does it cost to register a company in Kenya?

Company Registration Cost in Kenya varies depending on several factors like the type of the business and the total nominal share capital.

The statutory cost of registering a company in Kenya starts at USD 100.

We charge competitive professional fees as your company registration agents in Kenya in order to help you register a fully fledged company in Kenya.

Find out about the Cost of Registering a company in Kenya here

Can a foreigner register a company in Kenya? | Are foreigners allowed to register a company in Kenya? | Company Registration in Kenya for Foreigners

Yes, and yes. Foreigners are allowed to Register a company in Kenya and there are no ownership restrictions for most of the industries.

Shareholders of a Kenyan company can be any of the following:

• A local individual,
• A foreign individual,
• A local Company, or
• A foreign Company.

Any of these shareholders can undertake the Registration process and own 100% of the Kenyan company.

It is Important to note that you might be required to cede some shares to a local shareholder at some point after company setup in Kenya in some highly regulated industries that include Banking, Insurance and Telecommunication.

The registered company can then go ahead and hire local and foreign employees. Foreign employees need a work permit to work in Kenya. Click here for more details on How to get a work permit in Kenya

Important Things to do after Registering a Company in Kenya.

1. – Company Tax registration – Company Tax Registration is Mandatory for all companies in Kenya and tax registration certificate issued is used to enable payment of taxes and is often a requirement when applying for a bank account and other additional business licenses.
2. – Bank Account Opening – Here you can open a business bank account with any of the commercial banks in Kenya. Kenya currently has about 39 Privately owned banks.
3. – NHIF Registration  – Registration with the National Hospital Insurance fund is important because it enables payment of the employee mandatory hospital insurance.
4. – NSSF Registration – The National Social Security Fund is responsible for the management of the employee social security savings. Here you have the option of registering with a private retirement benefit scheme as an addition to NSSF
5. – Business premises License Application – This license is issiued by the county governments to companies with a physical location. The cost for this depends on a few dynamics like the total space occupied, number of employee and location.
6. – Apply for sector specific Licenses – For general businesses, you can operate without any issues after registering for item 1 to 5. However, for highly regulated industries like telecommunications, Banking, Insurance and you will need additional licensing from the relevant government departments.

Feel free to reach out to us for guidance on the processes above

Doing Business in Kenya | Kenya at a Glance

Did you Know that Kenya is the country with the second highest ranking in World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business index in Eastern Africa?

Kenya is the Largest Economy in the East African Community, the 65^th Largest economy in the world and the Financial, technical and Communications hub in East Africa.

The Kenyan GDP has on average grown at a rate of 6% since 2004 with a Per Capita GDP estimated at $1,991. After Company Registration you get access to the East Africa Community giving you access to a market of about 150 million people and a market size with a GDP of Billion USD 145.