Nearly 400 Private Companies In Kenya Shut Down in Only 6 Months

Registrar of Companies has revealed that 388 private companies in Kenya were dissolved between March and August 2019 with many more companies expected to be shut down by end of the year.

Data released by the registrar of companies noted that the firms vary across all sectors and range from single proprietor businesses, family-owned firms and local subsidiaries of international companies.

In August, 95 companies were dissolved while 100 and 90 firms were dissolved in July and May respectively. March saw the highest dissolution of 103 firms.

Some of the reasons for the dissolution are; companies ceasing operations, relocating and reorganizing of shareholding.

This comes at a time when many firms are laying off its employees, this year alone, East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC), Stanbic Bank and East African Breweries Limited announced massive layoffs that affected more than 1,000 workers.

Additional reports by Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) indicate that the rate of job creation fell sharply from 910,000 to 841,000 between 2017 and 2018.

This new revelation contradicts several reports which place Kenya top as an ideal business destination.

A survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) revealed that a section of top African CEOs ranked Kenya as the second leading business destination for big companies looking for growth prospects in 2019.

“The CEOs are looking for new markets … but they are approaching the new markets with some level of caution. So if they are identifying economies outside of their home, Kenya, given its level of stability, remains quite popular,” PwC Kenya assurance leader Kang’e Saiti added.

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