Overview of Business Law in Kenya (Gentosha Gold Online) --Yahoo! News

(* The photo is an image / FIFO)

This article is a reprint of "Overview of Business Law in Kenya" published by Nishimura & Asahi Law Office. * This newsletter is not intended for legal advice, and for individual cases, it is necessary to seek appropriate advice from a Japanese lawyer or a local lawyer, depending on the individual circumstances of the case. In addition, the views expressed in this article are the personal views of the author, not the views of Nishimura & Asahi Law Office or our clients.

This newsletter is based on information obtained by January 21, 2022.

1.First of all

In 2013, we launched the Africa Practice Team and published a booklet "African Business Law Guide" that summarizes the business laws of African countries (first edition in June 2014, second edition in August 2019). issue). In this article, in order for many people to get an overview of the African legal system, we have re-edited the main points of the "African Business Law Guide 2" to make it compact and supplemented with some information.

2. Overview of Kenya's business environment and its legal system

(Construction of skyscrapers is underway around Nairobi Riverside Drive, where representative offices of Japanese companies are gathered.)

(Start-up companies that install solar panels and supply electricity are active in non-electrified areas where there are no electric wires in Kenya.)

The Republic of Kenya (hereinafter referred to as "Kenya") became independent from the United Kingdom in 1963, has a land area 1.5 times that of Japan, and has a population of approximately 52.6 million * 1, making it the largest economic hub in East Africa. GDP has continued to grow since the early 1990s, and in 2020 it turned negative for the first time in about 30 years due to the economic stagnation caused by the new coronavirus, but in recent years it has maintained a growth rate of around 5% * 2. In addition, the activities of start-up companies with advanced technology are also seen, and it is attracting attention as the center of Leapfrog Innovation in East Africa * 3. * 1 https://www.jetro.go.jp/world/africa/ke/basic_01.html * 2 https://www.jetro.go.jp/biznews/2021/09/4535013199875ef1.html * 3 For example Call charges, etc. can be charged to a mobile phone called "M-PESA" developed by Safaricom, Kenya's largest telecommunications carrier, products can be purchased as so-called electronic money, and refunds can be made to cash. There are many start-up companies that use innovation technologies not found in developed countries, such as Flare, which has a widespread function that can be used and a private ambulance dispatch platform in Kenya, to replace social infrastructure (Tsubaki Susumu " Super Accelerated Economy Africa ”<2021, Oriental Economy> pp. 99-149). Against this background, there are active attempts to promote business opportunities between Japan and Kenya through public-private partnerships, and the “Kenya-Japan Business Networking Forum” * 4 held by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in January 2020. Then, opportunities for exchanges and business negotiations were set up between 49 Japanese companies / organizations considering business in Kenya and 53 local companies in Kenya, and Japanese companies and others visited local companies in Kenya. .. In addition, at the "Japan-Kenya Business Forum" * 5 held in collaboration with JETRO and the Kenya Investment Agency in June 2021, Kiyoshi Ejima, then Deputy Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, also participated in the business opportunity in Kenya. The "2nd Japan-Africa Public-Private Economic Forum" was held in December 2021 by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, JETRO, and the Kenyan government * 6. * 4 https://www.meti.go.jp/policy/external_economy/trade/africa/Kenya_Japan_Forum.pdf * 5 https://www.jetro.go.jp/biznews/2021/07/72c16f2e96a2f4fa.html * 6 https://www.meti.go.jp/press/2021/10/20211022002/20211022002.html The legal system of Kenya is derived from the English law of the former sovereign country, and is a law by the Kenya legislature (August 12, 1897). It consists of the Statutes of General Application, which came into effect in the United Kingdom on Japan), common law and equality law, African customs law, and case law (Kenian and British case law). It has evolved through (applies only to the extent that it does not conflict with Kenyan law). In the following, we will discuss the business forms and corporate establishments in Kenya, property law / land ownership law, intellectual property rights, labor and work licenses, and legal systems related to dispute resolution, which are considered to be of particular interest in business. I will introduce the outline of each.

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