Starting a Company in Kenya: Decisions to Make Before You File on eCitizen
Before registering a Kenyan company, choose the right vehicle, owners, directors, share structure, articles, beneficial owners and first compliance tasks.
Business Registration
How to Record a Board Decision in Kenya: Minutes, Conflicts and Follow-Up
Kenyan board minutes checklist: record quorum, conflicts, resolutions, dissent and follow-up actions clearly and accurately.
Shareholder Deadlock in a Kenyan Company: What to Do in the First 48 Hours
A Kenyan shareholder deadlock checklist: preserve records, check authority, maintain operations and choose a lawful route forward.
Shareholding Structures and Director Duties: The Basics in Kenya
Two founders holding fifty-fifty, a family with everyone on the register, or an investor with a preference share class, the shareholding written at incorporation determines what happens in every disagreement that follows. How should shareholding be structured? The Companies Act 2015 allows different classes of shares with different rights to votes, dividends and capital on … Read more
Registering an NGO, LLP or Trust as a Business Vehicle in Kenya
Not every venture belongs in a limited company. Charitable objects, professional partnerships and family wealth each have their own Kenyan vehicle, with different registries, different regulators and different obligations. When is an NGO the right vehicle? Organisations with public benefit objects, charitable, educational or welfare purposes rather than profit distribution, have traditionally registered under the … Read more
What Is Beneficial Ownership Filing for Kenyan Companies?
Banks, tender committees and overseas counterparties now ask companies for more than a CR12: they want to know who ultimately owns and controls the entity. The answer is supplied through beneficial ownership filings at the Business Registration Service, an obligation many companies encounter for the first time during due diligence, usually with a transaction clock … Read more
KRA PIN, NSSF, SHIF and County Permits After Incorporation
The certificate of incorporation arrives quickly. What new directors sometimes underestimate is the second register: the tax, social security and county obligations that must be in place before a company can lawfully employ staff and trade. Which registrations come first? The company’s KRA PIN is the anchor. It is issued through the Kenya Revenue Authority’s … Read more
Opening a Corporate Bank Account in Kenya: The Documents Banks Ask For
Banks ask for a formidable amount of paper before opening a corporate account, and the list is not arbitrary. It is driven by anti-money laundering law and each bank’s own diligence standards. What documents do Kenyan banks usually require? Certificate of incorporation and the company’s memorandum and articles, or constitution. A current company search, in … Read more
How Do You Transfer Shares in a Kenyan Private Company?
A shareholder wants out, an investor wants in, or one founder is buying another’s stake. Transferring shares in a private company is routine, but the steps interlock: the constitution controls the process, the company’s registers give effect to it, and the tax and registry consequences follow in sequence. Order matters, and shortcuts surface later as … Read more
Annual Returns and Compliance Deadlines Under the Companies Act 2015
Most Kenyan companies meet their annual return obligations only when a bank, tender or prospective buyer asks for proof of good standing, by which point penalties have accumulated and the cure takes weeks. When is the annual return due? A company with share capital must file an annual return with the Registrar of Companies within … Read more