Registering a Sole Proprietorship Business in Kenya

 A sole proprietorship, also known as the sole trader is a type of business entity that is owned and run by one individual and in which there is no legal distinction between the owner and the business.

 Sole proprietorships allow persons to report business income and expenses on their individual tax returns under business income while the other incomes such as employment income, interest income and others are reported in the same return under those separate headings.

 The owner receives all profits subject to taxation and has unlimited responsibility for all losses and debts. Every asset of the business is owned by the proprietor and all debts of the business are the proprietor's.

 Any individual can start this kind of business. In this regards, both a Kenyan Citizen and a foreigner can start a sole proprietorship.

 In Kenya, every entrepreneur is required by law to register the business name which will be used to carry out business activities.

 Requirements for registration of a sole trader business

1. Name of business – Firstly, a name search needs to be performed at the Companies Registry to ascertain the availability of the name. The name of the business can be the proprietors name or any other name s/he chooses. This however does not create a legal entity separate from the sole proprietor owner.

2. Nature of business – You will need to come up with one specific nature of business. For example: Machinery, Computer Repairs and Mobile Phone & Accessories. General words such as “retail” “wholesale” “trade” and “General Supplies” are not sufficient to proceed to register your business.

3. Address of the principal place of business i.e. (Plot No., section and name of street or road, and name of building) –If you do not have a business premises, you can use your home residential plot number/land reference number for registration but you will ultimately need to update the records at Company Registry once you have a Business Premises.

4. Postal address – If you do not have a postal address for your business, you can register one for Kshs. 2,800/= at the nearest Postal Office, otherwise you may us your personal postal address. You can still use one from a friend.

5. Address of any other place of business – This is only applicable to businesses that are currently operating business in other counties or have other branches under the same business name. 

6. Your full names – the full names that appears in your national identity cards

7. Nationality – You will require disclosing your nationality as indicated on your identification e.g. Kenyan, British, German, Chinese, etc.

• Age – Make sure you give your correct age based on your National ID or passport.

• Gender – You have to indicate whether you are male or female.

• Usual place of residence –This is where you currently reside e.g. Nairobi, Kisumu, Arusha, Kampala etc.

• Other business occupation – You will need to enter your occupation e.g. Mechanic, Accountant, etc. If you don’t have a specific occupation, you can simply indicate businessman or businesswoman.

• Signature – As with any formal application, you will be required to append your signature at the end of your application.

• Identification documents- you will be required to provide a copy of your ID/Passport, PIN Certificate and one colored passport photo