Starting a Business - Kenya

Since the repeal of the 30% local-shareholding requirement (Section 975(2)(b) of the Companies Act 2015, deleted by Section 85 of the Finance Act 2016, effective 1 January 2017), foreigners may wholly own a Kenyan private limited company. Sector-specific local-equity rules can still apply in regulated industries (e.g. telecoms, insurance, mining).

Company formation is done through the Business Registration Service on the eCitizen platform: reserve a name, then lodge incorporation forms (CR1, CR2, CR8) with director/shareholder, address and capital details, and pay fees online.

There is no statutory minimum share capital for an ordinary private limited company; nominal capital is commonly set at a modest figure (e.g. KES 100,000). Minimum capital thresholds arise only in regulated sectors or for immigration/investment purposes.

If documents are complete, incorporation generally completes within about 3–7 working days, with name approval taking 1–2 days and form processing/certificate issuance a few days more.

A foreigner who wants to actively run the business needs a Class G (investor) work permit, which generally requires demonstrating at least USD 100,000 of invested/available capital; the same USD 100,000 threshold under the Investment Promotion Act unlocks KenInvest investment incentives.

After incorporation the company must obtain a KRA PIN and register for applicable taxes; foreign individual directors/shareholders use passports to register, but operating, banking and permit applications require a KRA PIN and tax compliance.