Company Formation
A Kenyan legal presence, built right the first time.
Most foreign companies enter Kenya through a locally incorporated subsidiary; others register the parent as a foreign company and trade through a branch. We advise on the choice, prepare and legalise the documents, file with the Business Registration Service and complete the tax and statutory set-up that follows.
- Best for
- Investors ready to establish a Kenyan entity, or to put an existing one in order.
- Where it sits
- Set up: weeks 4 to 10 of a typical engagement
- Outcome
- A registered company or branch, live on KRA's systems, with its records complete.
- We deal with
- Business Registration Service, eCitizen, Kenya Revenue Authority, Kenya Industrial Property Institute
Everything Gate 02 covers.
Subsidiary or branch, documents legalised abroad, registration on eCitizen, beneficial ownership, KRA, eTIMS and brand protection, handed over in one complete pack.
Subsidiary incorporation
Name reservation, constitution and registration through eCitizen with the Business Registration Service, ending with the certificate of incorporation.
Branch registration
Registration of the parent as a foreign company under Part XXXVII of the Companies Act, 2015, appointment of a local representative and issue of the certificate of compliance.
Document legalisation
Notarisation and apostille or consular legalisation of parent company documents, coordinated with your home-country advisers.
Ownership and secretarial set-up
The register of beneficial owners lodged with the Registrar, statutory registers, first board resolutions, a registered office and a certified company secretary where the law requires one.
Tax registration
Company PIN, iTax obligations and eTIMS onboarding, with PINs for directors and expatriate staff.
Brand and data protection
Trademark search and registration with the Kenya Industrial Property Institute, and registration with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner where it applies.
Five steps, one accountable partner.
Every step is agreed in writing at the start, with a named partner who answers for it.
Choose the vehicle
We compare subsidiary and branch for your activity, licences, tax position and liability, and confirm any ownership conditions.
Prepare and legalise
We draft the constitution and filings and tell you exactly which parent documents need notarising, apostilling or translating.
File and register
We file on eCitizen, answer the Registrar's queries and collect the certificate.
Tax and statutory set-up
We register tax obligations, onboard eTIMS, lodge beneficial ownership details and open the statutory registers.
Handover
You receive every certificate, filing, login and renewal date in one pack.
Deliverables you can file, audit and act on.
Institutions we handle for you
- Certificate of incorporation or certificate of compliance
- Company constitution and statutory registers
- Beneficial ownership filing
- KRA PIN, iTax obligations and eTIMS registration
- Trademark application and data protection registration where required
- Handover pack with every filing, login and renewal date
About Company Formation.
If your question is not here, a partner will answer it on a discovery call.
Ask us directlySubsidiary or branch: which is better?
A subsidiary is a separate Kenyan company and limits the parent's liability. A branch is the parent itself, registered to trade in Kenya. Both pay corporate income tax at 30% on Kenyan profits, and a branch also pays a 15% tax on profits treated as repatriated. Licensing and banking often favour a subsidiary, and we set out the trade-offs for your case.
Do we need a Kenyan director or shareholder?
Kenyan law does not require local shareholders for most activities, and the 30% local ownership rule for ICT licensees was removed in August 2023. Some regulated sectors still set ownership or residency conditions, which we check before you register. A branch must appoint a local representative.
How long does incorporation take?
Registration on eCitizen moves quickly once the documents are complete. The longer part is usually preparing and legalising parent company documents abroad, so we plan that from the first week.
Read before you decide.
How to register a company in Kenya as a foreigner
A subsidiary or a branch, the documents you need, the order of the filings and what comes after the certificate.
Kenya's compliance calendar for foreign-owned companies
Every recurring filing a Kenyan company faces, from the 9th-of-the-month payroll remittances to annual returns, permit renewals and data protection certificates.
The KenInvest Investment Certificate: who needs it and how to get it
What the certificate is, the USD 100,000 threshold for foreign investors, how KenInvest weighs an application and what the certificate unlocks.