Nairobi City County has emerged as the most expensive county to start a Micro Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) due to high charges of acquiring licenses and permits.
According to the Kenya County Business Support Index by Viffa Consult, the country’s largest economy with a gross domestic product of Ksh 998.2 billion equivalent to 24.8pc booked the highest charges for licenses for business followed by Mombasa, Kisumu, Kisii, Kiambu, Nakuru, Kajiado, Kakamega, Uasin Gishu and Bungoma.
The pilot index shows that acquiring a business license for industrial plants county will set you back an average of Ksh 106,556 compared to Ksh 53,000 Bungoma County charges.
Establishing a factory, industrial plant, workshop or service repair contract or scrap metal business in Mombasa will cost you Ksh 78,500, Kisumu Ksh 83,333, and Nakuru County Ksh 80,909.
“By identifying counties with strong and weak business support systems, the CBSI assists in directing resources and policy initiatives to where they are most needed,” said Viffa Consult in the report.
Kiambu County emerged as the least costly county to establish an industry with business license with an average cost of Ksh 6,540, followed by Kakamega with Ksh 36,825, Uasin Gishu Ksh 40,742, Kajiado Ksh 58,500 and Kisii Ksh 53,150.
Nairobi County also recorded the highest charge when it comes to acquiring general trade license for businesses which include distributors, supermarkets, show rooms, retail shops and stores, salon, barbershops, car wash and butchery.
In Nairobi, to start a general trade business, one is required to pay an average of Ksh 95,250 compared to Ksh 75,385 in Mombasa and Ksh 45,000 in Kisumu.
Uasing Gishu Count emerged top County Business Support Index Overall Rank with 85pc score, followed by Nakuru with 59pc, Kakamega with 56pc, Bungoma 50pc.
“Counties with higher rankings can potentially leverage this as a marketing tool to attract investors and entrepreneurs. Benchmarking against other counties fosters knowledge sharing and learning, allowing successful practices to be replicated and scaled across the nation,” the report stated.
Kajiado was ranked 5th with a score of 43pc followed by Kiambu with 36pc, Mombasa 28pc, Kisumu 27pc Kisii 26pc and Nairobi 26pc.
