Registering a Company/Business in Kenya

The process of registering a company can be hectic and tedious if you don’t follow the correct channels. The cost of registering a company in Kenya has drastically reduced and improved the ease of doing business ranking.

Before that, the following documents are required:-

National Social Security Fund (NSSF) card
Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) certificate
National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) membership
A national ID or passport

The following are additional requirements:-

An active email address
Phone number
A passport-sized photo in soft copy format
Computer
Active internet connection
Browser
Business name
Company details such as directors
Registration fee and payment method such as a mpesa,visa card etc.

The following steps will guide you through to register your company successfully via the internet on a computer:-

1. Open an E-Citizen account

Open your browser , search ecitizen.go.ke and click on Create an account
Enter your national identification number and first name
Press validate button
Specify your contact details and set password
Accept terms and conditions and click continue
Verify mobile number

2.Name and search reservation

Go to ‘Business Registration Service’
Start application
Choose your company type
Register of business name. It is important to note:-
Companies with an “Enterprise” at the end cannot use initials such as J.K, Voke, Jonte, or even Brian.
Names with “Foundation” suffix must be registered as Limited by Guarantee.
Names with “Projects,” “Groups,” “Holdings,” and “Universities” should be under limited.
Single words are rejected. For instance, you cannot name your organization, “Sokoni.”
Offensive words are unacceptable regardless of whether they are in your mother tongue or vernacular.
Political names are forbidden.
Numbers in the name are not accepted unless it’s the current year. For example, “Anti-Locusts limited, 2021.”
Names with a prefix “Kenya” are only used by government agencies.
Church, ministry or ministries are unacceptable.
Trust Foundation suffix is never allowed.
The registrar deals with companies only and not clubs or societies.
Welfare, organization, or association names are never accepted.
You cannot modify an existing company. For example Kakuzi Tea to Kakuzi Wine
Describe the chosen name
Pay the application charges