For the individual it’s an effective way of saving and quick and cheap means of raising capital; and for the Sacco as an entity there is power that comes from having members and regular income from contributions.

Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA) report shows 175 registered and regulated Saccos with a combined asset value of Ksh 393 billion shilling as of 2016. With such figures, it’s no wonder many people want to get in on this thriving field.

So how does one get to register a Sacco.

Step 1: Registering your Sacco

You will need to propose a Sacco name that will be approved by Cooperative Society Department in Sheria House subject to availability.

Upon approval of the name, a Sacco registration form will need to compete with details of all the board members and members including proof of identity documents, physical address of all members. We highly advise you to visit the Cooperative Society Department to get the comprehensive information, fees, application times and form and resources need to complete your registration.

Step 2: Requirement to Operate

If you intend on taking deposits from your members/customers, you will be required to obtain a license from SASRA. SASRA is mandated by section 24 of the Saccos Societies Act 2008 to license and regulate the operation of Deposit Taking Saccos. Approval of your license to operate from SASRA can take 4 months and above.

Non-deposit taking saccos are exempt however, there are other requirements to meet depending on the intended area of operation.

Numbers of members at registration is dependent on sector:

• 50 members for agricultural society.
• 20 for Savings and Credit Cooperative Society
• 10 members for other types of Cooperatives.
• Members are required to be above 15 year of age; while board members must be 18 years of age and above.

Step 3: Becoming Operational

Once the above steps are completed, you should receive a Certificate of Registration from the Registrar. This will enable you to acquire Sacco Bank account, other business permits, NHIF and NSSF, tax arrangements.

Here is to your success in getting your Sacco registered.

We currently do not offer SACCO registration services at the moment.

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To apply you will need, a copy of passport photo, a valid travelling document i.e passport or national ID Card. This will enable you to register for an eCitizen Account, which is the government’s new online portal for providing government services such as visa or land, passport and many others.

To complete a visa application form on eCitizen, you will need to fill in the traveller’s information, travel history, nationality and residency information. You will also be requested to provide supporting documents (such as itinerary, return ticket) and payment.

Application processing time can be up to 48 hours, to get visa application. However inadequately completed applications or lack of supporting documents might result in visa application being rejected.

Visa approval is given via email. You then print the e-visa from your email and show this at any entry point into Kenya where a visa stamp is then placed in your passport.

From time to time, the Department of Immigration can change the requirements and costs. So it is important that you check with them for accurate information.

Photo Courtesy of huffingtonpost.com

Content Courtesy of Dealpoa.com

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You have to register an eFNS (Electronic Foreign National portal) account to kick off the process. You will need your passport, passport photo and your contact details.

Note: Those with eCitizen Account can use their login to access eFNS without needing to register since the two platforms are integrated.

Once you’ve gained access to eFNS, you can then complete the Alien ID application, print it out, attach two passport photos and your original passport and work permit or special pass and submit it to the Department of Immigration Services for Foreign Nationals.

After making payment, your fingerprints will be taken as part of the application. You will be informed of an estimate time when your Alien ID will be ready for collection.

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Content Courtesy of Dealpoa.com

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Permit fees are around Ksh. 100,000 or $1,000 (not including the processing fees of $100 or Ksh 10,000)

To apply, the applicant is required to have eFNS account where they can fill a permit application form (Form 25), print it out with a permit cover letter (details of the type of business expected to be conducted and the role of the applicant in the company all on company letterhead), and certificate of incorporation (or copy of certificate of compliance).

The applicant will also need to provide Memorandum (Form CR2) if you had registered your company in Kenya. However if you had opened a branch of foreign company, you need to make sure that the memorandum has been notarised from country of origin.

The applicant’s bank statement needs to show investment of at least $100,000, Passport photo, Passport and Company PIN needs to be provided.

It will cost Ksh. 10,000 to processing the application. Make sure you keep the receipt issued as you will be required to provide as proof of payment.

The next step is to get the notification of approval for an entry permit. You will need the original payment receipt for permit processing fees in order to obtain the notification of approval letter.

If you are using a representative to make your application on your behalf, you will need to give them a letter of authority from your company, giving permission to your representative to act on your behalf.

At this stage, you will be required to make payment of Ksh. 100,000 towards the permit fees. You will need to provide a copy of security bond and original letter of approval before you are issued with a payment receipt for class G permit. Make sure you do the payment of Ksh. 100,000 within 30 days of being issued with letter of approval. Failure to do so will result in cancellation of application.

You can collect or have your representative pick up the class G work permit once it is ready. For the documents to be handed over by department of immigration, an original payment receipt will need to be presented as proof of the application.

For permit endorsement, you can have an entry permit that will authorize you to enter Kenya within a period of 6 months from the date of issue and to remain in Kenya for the period indicated for class G permit.

From time to time, the Department of Immigration can change the requirements and costs. So it is important that you check with them for accurate information.

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Getting Started: Company Registration

In Kenya, there are specific company registration requirements that you must comply with. Additionally, there are regulations for specific industries such as business permits, registration with industry bodies (National Construction Authority), compliance with specific standards, that you will have to meet for your business to start operating in that field. Please note that foreigners may have to meet additional requirements to operate their business in Kenya.

In this article, I will go through the process of complying with firstly, the business registration process and, secondly, meeting the industry specific requirements. A lot of the information that I will go through can be easily made available by applicants to comply with government or regulators. Either way, it pays to be well prepared by paying close attention to the following list of requirements:

Information Required

To register your construction limited company, here is information that you will need to prepare to comply to the Company Act 2015;

Director(s) Details

• Full names – your full names as displayed on your ID/Passport will be used on the application
• Occupation – you will need to state your occupation e.g. engineer, web designer, accountant, consultant, teacher etc. If you don’t have any occupation, then you can simply put either businessman or businesswoman.
• Postal address – if you don’t have one, you can register it with Posta Kenya.
• Physical Residential address – LR number or house number, building name (if any), street name, town name, country.
• Share Allocations – each director will need to be allocated at least 1 share. Remember that the total number of shares available for allocation is 1,000 shares. You can plan to allocate your 1,000 shares using percentages such as 60%/40%, 50%/50%. However, if you are just the sole director then you can have 100% share ownership.
  See also: Nominal Capital Share Explained
• Proof of Identity documents – you will need to provide the following documents for registration, without them your application will be rejected.
  • Copy of ID or Passport – you can scan or photocopy your identification document
  • Copy of KRA PIN certificate – all Kenyan directors/shareholders will need to provide KRA PIN, however foreigners won’t need to provide one for the registration
  • Photos – must have a clear background and show all your facial features, just like a passport photo. Please avoid submitting photos that has someone wearing sunglasses, hats; this could cause your application to be rejected by the Registrar.

Company Details

• Company Name Suggestions – it’s ideal to come up with 2-3 company name suggestions that you can use to check the availability of your company name. Please note that you are only allowed to perform one name at a time. You can perform name search at Huduma Center or eCitizen website or you can instruct us to help you with it. It usually takes 1-2 days.
• Nature of business – with the new Company Act 2015, you can now do all trade of business. This is good news especially for companies that would prefer to do multiple business activities. However, if you are specializing on a specific industry then you can list the business activities that you would like to be stated on the application form.
• Location of business premises – you will need to provide the location details of your office including LR Number or Plot Number, Building name (if any), Street name, Town name. If you don’t have a business premises yet, then you can provide your home address then make the changes later once you have secured a business premises.

What If I want To Upgrade My Existing Business To Become Limited Company

If you are looking to upgrade your sole proprietor or partnership business, then you will need to provide all the above requirements, however there is one additional document that you will need to provide us;

• Business Certificate – you will need to send us the original business certificate for your sole proprietor/partnership business since this will be required in the cessation process (winding up of your business) to allow the limited company to be formed.

What If I want To Register A Foreign Limited Company?

There are always additional requirements that foreign owned companies need to comply with.  In the process of company registration, foreigners need to provide:

• Identity documents – such as copy of Passport and photo
• Alien ID – when applying for Company PIN
• Certificate of Incorporation & Memorandum of existing foreign company – if you are looking to open a branch or subsidiary company for an existing foreign company, then you will be requested to provide the certificate of incorporation and memorandum.

You can see a full step by step guide for foreign company registration here.

Related Reading: How To Register A Foreign Limited Company

Company KRA PIN

Once you have been issued with your certificate of incorporation and memorandum, you will be able to apply for your company PIN. Data loading will need to be performed at any iTax centers or KRA offices. Here are some of the requirements you will need to have with you;

• Certificate of Incorporation
• Memorandum
• Individual KRA PIN for each director – you will need at least one individual KRA PIN for one director in order to register company PIN. If all directors are foreigners, then at least one of the directors will need to apply for Alien ID that will enable them to acquire their individual PIN.
• Director(s) details – including KRA PIN Number, Full names, date of birth, phone number, email address etc.
  

Company Seal & Stamp

In Kenya, Company Seal is considered a useful stationery for businesses. It is used for contracts, deeds, share certificates and most importantly for setting up subsidiary companies. Here is what you need to know if you are looking to get a company seal in Kenya.

CR-12 Letter and AGPO certificate

These are additional steps that only apply to those businesses intending to go for government (national or county) tenders. In order to apply for CR-12 letter, a letter will need to be written on your company letterhead requesting Company Registry to give you a CR-12 letter that contains list of directors in your registered company. You will also need to attach a copy of Certificate of Incorporation on your request.

Related Reading: CR-12 Letter for Limited Company

If you are looking to apply for Government Tenders as a youth, women or persons with disability, then you will need to pre-qualify your company so you can be given AGPO Certificate that will help you to bid for tenders.

See Also: How To Apply For AGPO Certificate for Government Tenders

Tax Compliance Certificate

Tax Compliance Certificate (TCC) is one of the crucial documents required when applying for a Government Tender.

For AGPO applicants, you must have a tax compliance certificate in order to get approval by AGPO to apply for the 30% government tenders preserved for youth, women and person with disabilities.

See Also: How To Apply For Tax Compliance Certificate

Business Permits

To apply for business permit for your business, it all depends on which county you intend to operate your business in. Some counties such as Nairobi and Mombasa counties have embraced online platforms where businesses can apply and renew their business permits. To get more information, check your respective county government’s websites.

Business permits costs usually vary from county to county, you will need to inquire with your county government for accurate cost. Business permit rates depend on the size of business premises, number of employees working there and the type of business. Estimate cost ranges from Ksh. 5,000 per year, this could be higher or lower for some businesses.

Related Reading: How To Apply For Business Permits In Nairobi

So what’s next after registering my company?

Your business is now a legal entity, but you will still have further requirements to meet before you can effectively start trading in your field.

Things to consider:

• Getting licensed – to comply with your industry, you will need to apply for license that can enable you to operate your businesses such as NCA, KEBS, NEMA.
• Getting insurance – depending on the type of business or type of product/service, insurance services will come in handy to protect yourself and your business from liability. Find insurance agent to see what type of insurance coverage you can get for your business.
• Getting funding – you will need to do research to see potential available source of funding that will help your business to meet demands. For example; applying for LPO financing when you successfully acquire a contract.
• Finding and hiring labour – you will need to identify where you can hire personnel to perform the tasks needed in the business. The best place to find people who you can hire are Fuzu.com, BrighterMonday.com etc.
• Understanding and complying with industry regulation such as National Construction Authority.
• Business Bank Account – While it is not a strict and enforceable requirement, you will find that a business bank account will help you in your accounting process, show your investors and customers that you are an established and professional business. Some investors will not give funding unless this is to be deposited into a business bank account.
  The market has a range of business bank accounts available to suit small start ups or larger businesses. You need to do your homework as to which one will best suit your needs.
• Government construction tenders – including roads or buildings, bigger projects (Class A, B, C, D etc.)
• Taxation – Annual Tax Returns, VAT Returns, Income Tax Return for Employees (Every June 30th)
• Protect your business – Trademark, Copyright
• Annual Returns to Company Registry

Now that you know some of the requirements and what it takes to start a construction company, you can start by registering your company.

Register Your Limited Company Today

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Am not sure if this is a security measure put in place by the Government where they would like to use Tax Agents to vet all applicant before they are fully registered on the new iTax system. If you are simply looking to register your KRA PIN, then you’ll need to visit iTax official website.

Documents You Must Have

In this article, we will outline the steps of applying to be a tax agent for KRA. Here are the requirements you need to provide;

1. KRA PIN Certificate
2. Tax Compliance Certificate

You will be required to fill an application form that will contain the following;

• Name of applicant – Fullnames as shown on your ID/Passport
• PIN number (for example A12345678A)
• Registered/Physical address: Street/Road, Postal Address, Telephone, and Email address
• Professionals: – For professionals applicants, you will be expected to fill the name of profession, name of professional body and the registration number will be required for all professional applicants.
• Non Professionals: – For non-professional applicants, KRA mentions that you need to attach a brief two page curriculum vitae (CV) summarizing your work experience, academic and professional qualifications if any
• Tax Compliance Certificate – Serial Number and Date of Issue will need to be filled in.

After filling the form, you will need to sign the document before submission to KRA. Please note that professional applicants are required by KRA to get endorsement from their professional body.

KRA also has indicated that all persons practicing as firms or other legal entities, the certificate of registration shall be issued in the individual names of the proprietors.

The form can be downloaded on the KRA website. However, we have provided you with a link below to make it easier for you;

• Application for Registration as a Tax Agent

Please note that this application is not for individuals who want to register for KRA PIN, but only for individuals who want to become KRA Tax Agent so they can assist other people to register their KRA PIN.

Here is to your success in becoming a Tax Agent

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In this article, I will be taking your through some of the things you need to prepare in order to start trading with your event planning business.

Think Big, Start Small!

When planning to start an event planning business, you need to consider how you will be sustaining the business on monthly basis. Most event planning business usually starts from home, thus enabling the entrepreneur to save on overhead costs.

To start your events planning business, all you need is a laptop/computer, internet and mobile phone. You can do so much with just these tools to begin with, and then gradually grow the business by investing in it. Eventually you will have enough monthly income that will allow you to expand business, but remember this takes time. There are no shortcuts or quick rich schemes when it comes to running a business.

In our business coaching program, we usually help business to identify their customers, developing products/services, building customer service structures and most importantly, we help our members to set up strong cash flow structure that will help their businesses have an outlook on its progress.

Naming Your Business

You’ll need to come up with a company name for your event planning business. Please note that you need to take into consideration the perception the name has. We always recommend our customers to have at least two (2) company names before starting the name search prices. This will help saving time during the name search stage and also increase the chances of at least one company name being available for use.

You will also need to take into consideration on whether someone else is using that name in another country. You can simple try and Google the name and see if anything comes up. You will also need to check availability of domain name on that company name – for example companyname.com, companyname.co.ke. We offer this service to our Premium Plan customers.

Choosing Your Legal Entity

When planning to register your business, you will need to know what type of business entity you want to use for your business. Here are some of the business entities to choose from;

• Register A Sole Proprietor Business (one person)
• Register A Partnership Business (minimum 2 people, maximum 20 people)
• Register A Limited Company (minimum 1 director, maximum 7 directors, up-to 50 shareholders)

Getting Registered

Once you have decided on the right business entity, you can initiate the registration process. You can either register your event planning business at Huduma Center or you can engage us to help you register your company. This process usually takes around 2 weeks or less (depending on Company Registry workload).

If you have opted to register a limited company with us, you’ll need to collect some requirements that will be used to prepare the Memorandum & Article of Association documents. Here are some of the information that you will need to gather;

• Company information – such as company name suggestions, nature of business, location of business (home or office), nominal share capital etc.
• Directors information – such as fullnames, postal address, occupation, share allocation
• Proof of identity documents – Copy of ID/Passport for each director (Front & Back-side), Copy of KRA PIN Certificate for each director and Passport Photo for each director.

IMPORTANT! We currently only register limited company at the moment. If you are looking to register sole proprietorship and partnership business, we recommend that you visit Huduma Center for further assistance.

Please note that the entire process can take more than 2 weeks should you take longer in signing relevant documents or delaying of requirements needed to carry out the registration. If there are any deadlines we should be aware of, please contact us immediately so we can help you register your company through our fast tracking service.

KRA PIN Registration

Upon receiving the company certificate and your memorandum and article of association, you will need to perform data loading and register your event planning company KRA PIN online. If you have registered your business through us or our partner company Dealpoa, then we will be able to help you with your company KRA PIN.

Getting Your Business Online

Every business needs to setup an online presence for their business. To build credibility to your customer, it is important that they can go online and find who you are, what you offer and how to reach you. Through our partner companies, we offer our customer everything they need to get their business online such as domain name registration, web hosting service, website design, logo design and business card design. These services are only available for our Premium Plan Customers.

CR-12 Letter

This document usually contains the list of directors’ particulars and shareholding details. For event planning businesses looking to apply for Government Tenders, then you will require to apply for your CR-12 Letter. You will need a copy of your certificate of incorporation and a written letter to Registrar of Companies to request for the CR-12. We currently offer this service to our Premium Plan members only.

Business Permit

Every business that has a business premises in Kenya will require a business permit in order to run their business. It is very crucial to acquire one before start trading in your office to avoid penalties from the county government.

Register Your Limited Company Today

Here is your success in starting your event planning business in Kenya.

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In Kenya, a business collapses in the first 5 years since instigation. Well, by observing the following I hope to guide upcoming entrepreneurs in adequately preparing and if your business has survived this period, check on the below issues.

1. Financial literacy: Think about it, we go to school before looking for a job, we go to driving school before purchasing a car, then why start a business if you’re not well equipped?

Financial literacy is at the core of all matters touching on our day to day lives. This been said, we all have to accept and make a PERSONAL Decision to educate ourselves on various aspects of finance. It’s advisable for any serious business to consider educating itself (and its employees) on these maters as they will guide the business’s growth. Setting up sound business plan,financial management systems, stock control, risk management, record keeping and compliance, a business stands a better chance to  improve its profits if not just safe guard its assets.

Guiding Tip: Through your financial services provider or Expert in the business segment you exploring, identify free seminar/training been offered and other key financial experts. This will give you an opportunity to learn from an unbiased expert and get a general feel of how to do business and what is required.

2. Compliances with the regulation and Laws: The lack of understanding of the Law, regulations required to start a business or keep it running usually tend to bring down a majority of startups as they end up paying stiff penalties which eats into the business by bring about unexpected costs in capital and time. Through a Chai Sacco campaign- Vijana tu-Invest- targeting the youth, more than 80% of the business(groups) participating missed out on Government tenders opportunities because they didn’t understand how the *Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO) works.  To get the relevant information, I would advice one inquires from information resource center such as the huduma center (before/when registering the business) or get a Mentor.

Guiding Tip: Before venturing into a business, identify a reliable source (mentor, information center) to guide you on the requirement needed to operate. This will save you a lot of capital, time and reputation management.

3. Lack of a Mentor: The role played by a mentor in growing businesses is unmistakable. A good mentor will make your dreams achievable more quickly.  The best mentors are those who have done what you are trying to accomplish before, successfully, and who are helping you for friendship or self-fulfillment reasons. By working with such an individual, you get to anticipate any problems, save on resources and stay ahead of the competition. For instance, Bill Gate has many a times highlighted Warren Buffets contribution to the growth of Microsoft and his CAREER.

Guiding Tip: A mentor is there to offer Consul not make decisions for your business, so learn the difference between asking for consul and advice and always remember to appreciate the guiding force that is the mentor. They have the potential of taking your business tot the next level if well utilized.

4. Being overly ambitious: Being ambitious is a good thing and from an entrepreneur’s point of view, it’s essential but by being overly ambitious, one can easily lose track and drive the business down. Overly ambitious in our context means, don’t expect to blow up like Steve Jobs with Apple or to be Mark Zuckerberg because they got where they are by being them. Be yourself and set your own attainable stands, this way, when you show reliability and consistency in growth, your customers and employees will buy into the business. Through believing in your ideas, unique leadership and a clear realistic plan, you will get there.

Guiding Tip: Always set tangible goals that you can easily attain yet will challenge you. By setting small bite-size goals, you mitigate the risk of killing the employee’s moral and creates an opportunity for the business to have a gradual consistent growth. For example, Safaricom got to where they are through slow and steady goal setting.

5. Lack of proper research: A majority of Kenyan businesses are not well thought through or are guided by misinformed research not supported by facts. This leads to failure or unforeseen outcomes which is very risky. For instance, at the moment, everyone is opening an education center/institution solely with the misconception that they make money. But what guides this move? Is it the fact that all institutions are building big structures? Or because more people are going to school? Before delving into business one needs to understand what the market is not offering and seek to fill this void. In so doing, the business stands a better chance of survival when the competition rises. This also helps guide their decision making and planning.

Guiding Tip: Once you know your areas of focus, conduct an extensive research on the Industry and the business in particular. Through this you can clearly see your goal, step required to achieve it and what it will take. E.g. Remember Safaricom’s 1^st public offering, everyone bought in without analyze the possible outcome. Research, guided some business men and investors to wait until the share cost went down to Ksh 2.50 cents and bought in.

By Observing the above tips, business across Kenya stand a better chance to grow and this will lead to healthy competition, improvement in quality, better customer services and eventually grow the economy. In parting, I would like to echo my opening query; does one buy a car before they can drive, then why invest your saving in a business before counter-checking on the above?

By Isaac Muchendu.

The writer is Chai Sacco Chief operations Officer having worked in the financial sector for over 10 years and engaged with young businesses. 

The post 5 Key Things To Do For Any Serious Startup appeared first on Fenesi.com.

To acquire your CR12 Letter, you will need to have the following documents;

• Copy of certificate of incorporation (for limited company only)
• Business Name Certificate (for sole proprietor or partnership business)
• Company Letterhead

These documents will be required to be submitted physically in the company registry for the application to be processed. Please also note that if you have never done your Company Registry annual returns, that will be indicated on the CR12 letter that will be produced by Registrar of companies.

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At the moment, if you want to register a limited company, you will need to look for a business partner in order to meet the minimum threshold of 2 company directors. This is all about to change once the current Companies Bill 2014 which is being debated by the parliament is passed.

According to Hon. Samuel Chepkong’a, Chairman – Justice & Legal Affairs Committee, you can now register a company as an individual as single director. You do not need to look for a partner to register the company. The current law inhibit one person to register a limited company.

During the debate that took place on the 9th July 2015 in Parliament;

Hon. Tom Kajwang’ – MP, Ruaraka suggested that the new law should also help businesses that have an annual turnover of Ksh. 5 million or less to be not compeled to have a company secretary to perform company returns. You should be able to simply fill the returns as a director rather than hiring a company secretary. However, if your company is generates more than Ksh. 5 Million annually, you will be required by law to acquire the services of a company secretary in order to make your company returns.

I believe this will attract more people both locally and internationally in registering a limited company as it will be much more easy once this Bill sails through in the third reading before it becomes law.

It is commendable that the Kenyan Government is working hard to improve the environment for doing business.

It is my hope that Kenya Revenue Authority makes it easier for the registeration of KRA PIN for both local residents and foreigners in order to make Companies Bill 2014 a success.

Are you looking to register your limited company?

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