Before you set up your small business in Kenya, it is imperative that you get it registered. Normally, the process of registering a company is done at the office of the Registrar of Companies. This office is located at Sheria House along Harambee Avenue in Nairobi.
If you are planning to start a business as an individual, you can register it under sole proprietorship. Otherwise you can register it as partnership or (private) limited company. Let us quickly go through the steps of registering a small business in Kenya (manually).
Step One: Name Search
This process is available both digitally and manually. Normally, it costs Ksh.100 per name. This process can take anywhere between 24 and 72 hours. We would recommend you pay for at least 3 name searches at once to save on time. For example:
Sample name search letter to the registrar. (Courtesy: FENESI)
The office of the registrar normally reserves the names in your search list for 30 days after which you would have to renew your search. You will be given a BN/2 form at the registrar’s office, which you’ll be required to complete accordingly.
Step Two: Complete the BN/2 Form
The BN/2 form has 7 distinct parts and here we are going to teach you how each of these sections should be filled.
Sample BN/2 Form
(1)Business Name – Insert the name that the office of the registrar approved during the name search stage. Don’t alter any letter or symbols, let every detail resemble what was issued to you by the registry office.
(2)Nature of Business – Give clear and concise information and avoid being vague. If you simply write “small business” or “kiosk” chances are that your application will be rejected. If you are planning to launch a hardware then the best answer for this would be “Sale of construction materials”.
(3)Date of Commencement – Simply write down the date when you believe you will be in a position to begin your business. Make sure you set a realistic timeline to increase your chances of getting an approval.
(4)Address of your office – Here you will be required to fill the plot number or land reference number. However, if you are still a hustler like most of us, you can put your residential address. You can always apply to change this information at the office of the registrar at a later date. Example of address:
Along Eldama Ravine Road, Off Peponi Road; Haramia Court, Block 3, Westlands, Nairobi
(5)Postal Address – This should be something like P.O BOX 1234 – 00100, Nairobi. If you don’t have a postal box address, you can always apply for one at the Kenya Posta offices. Alternatively, you can use a friend’s mailing address.
(6)Address of any other place of business – If you have no other branches operating around the country you can simply fill N/A. If you have other branches, you will be required to fill their addresses under this sub-heading.
(7)Your Particulars – If you are a sole proprietor, then you will fill the information as indicated. Likewise, for partnerships. Don’t use initials for example, instead of writing Justus K. Otieno you should write something like Justus Kamau Otieno.
(8)Signature – Make sure you read every piece of detail keenly before appending your signature above the dotted line at the back page of the BN/2 form.
Please Note The Following
- Note that you will be required to pay Ksh. 800 in cash when submitting the BN/2 form. Registration normally takes between 10 and 21 days (this might reduce as the GoK is digitizing the whole process).
- The Government of Kenya is introducing a couple of changes to the registration process and hence the actual process of registering a business might be slightly different from this one.
- We don’t offer business registration services, so kindly liaise with the office of the Attorney General at Sheria House in Nairobi for further information.
- You can register your company by phone by dialing *271#
Finally;
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