Government steps up ease of doing business with one-stop shop

The official launch of the Biashara Centre in Mombasa County (PHOTO; Kelvin Karani)

MOMBASA, KENYA: Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the Coastal Region will now access government services under one roof following the opening of a new biashara center in Mombasa.

The opening of the center comes as the Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade and Enterprise Development (MoITED) in collaboration with the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) move to enhance efficiency and ease of doing business in the Country by eliminating logistical and administrative challenges occasioned by seeking public services in multiple locations making the process long and tedious.

“We recognise the significant role MSMEs will play in post COVID -19 economic recovery and the urgent need to address obstacles limiting the growth of MSMEs in the country. With the new Biashara Center MSMEs can now access services from Public Institutions in the entrepreneurial ecosystem under one roof in a timely and effective manner,” Said Njiraini.

Housed at the KEBS Coast Region office, the new Biashara Center is a one-stop shop for essential business and trade services such as tax compliance registration, MSMEs loans and branding registration support. The center will also provide training on production, product certification and systems accreditation.

Other services to be provided at the center include promoting, regulating, and developing MSMEs to boost growth in the sector.  

Government agencies already set up at the center include Kenya Accreditation Service (KENAS), Kenya Industrial Property Institute (KIPI), Kenya Industrial Estates (KIE), Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), Numerical Machining Complex (NMC), Kenya Industrial and Development Institute (KIRDI), Micro and Small Enterprises Authority (MSEA), among others.

The center also houses modern testing and calibration facilities which is equipped with testing laboratories including Food and Agriculture, Microbiology, Partial Organic and Inorganic Chemistry, Instrumentation and Metrology that will offer testing and calibration services to the Coast region customers as opposed to sending samples to Nairobi as previously done.

“The offices and laboratories that offer testing services are fully accredited and compliant with ISO 17025 requirement for conformity assessment” added Njiraini.

Currently, Kebs Coast region office supports over 2,500 firms through product certification including 505 SMEs across coastal counties Mombasa, Kilifi, Kwale, Taita Taveta, Lamu, and parts of Tana River. The office also serves Taveta, Lunga Lunga and Shimoni Boarder points.

Other regional facilities that offer testing and calibration services include North Rift (Eldoret) and Lake (Kisumu). There are plans to expand to the regions of Mount Kenya (Nyeri) and South Rift (Nakuru).