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Starting business in Nairobi

Last activity 13 May 2019 by Anne-Sharon

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seaninsa

I am thinking of moving there one day. My g/f right now owns one daycare and we are thinking of opening more. Anyone have pluses and minuses on that? From what I have read it seems like daycare is a growing business there. The biggest thing is just being in the right area. Would love to hear back from others.

Longonot62

Hello,  for a foreigner to invest in a business and to operate within it, you would need a Class G work permit.  Please see the link below for the physical and financial requirements:

https://fns.immigration.go.ke/infopack/permits/classG/

You can register a business as a foreigner, but would be unable to work within it without a work permit.  Things have toughened up and foreigners, without a work permit have been deported for working within businesses owned and operated by their partners.

muluabujalaw

Hi,
without the proof of capital as required for class , you can register the business as a company, then apply for the normal work permit through the company as an employee of the company . ***

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Longonot62

How would that work if you are a director of the same company?

muluabujalaw:  please avoid self promotion on the forum!

Anne-Sharon

There is definitely a need for quality daycares in Kenya. You may need to research on approvals/licenses you will need from the Children's Department before launching an investor's permit application.
Also, maybe existing companies in Kenya that require prolonged hours from staff may consider having talks about including a daycare system within their companies. This is becoming more common in the West; Kenya may catch up to this idea too

Longonot62

"This is becoming more common in the West; Kenya may catch up to this idea too" 

Hopefully not, in a way, as it not particularly beneficial to children who spend long periods of time away from home and parents.  Not every western idea or trend is positive, or worth following.

The increasing move to nurseries and day care for little children should not be seen as a positive step forward - these are the next generation of parents and society.  The way they have been parented though day care and nursery, immediately followed by years of school will affect society as a whole in the future.

Anne-Sharon

I understand where you are coming from; however, I prefer the idea of daycares being closer to parents so that access to their children is more frequent as opposed to only seeing them at the end of a long work day. I say this because many young working mothers in Kenya are not satisfied with the current maternity leave period of just three months; the nine months of a child is a very sensitive period for both the baby and mother, especially if the mother has chosen to breast feed. Allso, the need for bonding and the dependency of the baby on the mother is at one of its highest points. I believe working mothers would appreciate companies that think of setting up daycares.

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