Investment climate in Kenya much better now, says CS

Investors can now set up a company within a single day in key reforms the Government has taken to improve global attractiveness and rankings in the ease of doing business.

Industrialisation Cabinet Secretary Adan Mohamed has said the State will be betting on IT-based solutions to beat competition for foreign direct investment emanating from countries in the region like Rwanda.

“An investor can now fly into the country in the morning and leave on an evening flight after completing registering a firm,” he said at a breakfast meeting with representatives of private sector in Nairobi yesterday.

Reservation of business names could be done over the mobile phone while approval of building plans in Nairobi County is now done online, he added.

Mohamed noted that today, one does not need to walk physically to the office of company registrar, get a personal identification number from the tax authority offices or take days to have building approvals from the Nairobi County government.

“These services can be obtained through online platforms from the comfort of one’s office or even a mobile phone,” he added.

During the breakfast media briefing to update the country on the Ease of Doing Business Reforms, there were presentations from the Ministries of Industrialisation and Enterprise Development, National Treasury, Lands, Housing and Urban Development and Energy.

RED TAPE

Government red tape and lengthy registration procedures are among the indicators used in gauging how business friendly different jurisdictions are. Coming ahead of the visit by US President Barack Obama next week, the CS said the country was putting its best foot forward to ensure it got the maximum benefits from the business summit.

Hundreds of international investors will be attending the Global Entrepreneurship Summit – where the attractiveness of the country as an investment destination could be out to the test.

Kenya has been ranked 136 on a list of 189 in the latest survey conducted by the World Bank. That ranking was a marginal improvement from the previous year where the country was one position worse.