Business Name Registration In Kenya

How To Register a Business Name in Kenya
 
The procedure here is pretty easy and should not cost more than Kshs 900/-. Here is what you need to do

1.Pick out a business name that you wish to register. Write a simple letter addressed to the “Registrar General”. This letter need only ask the registrar to confirm if your chosen business name is available for registration.

2.Make your way over to Sheria House, and to the Registrar of Companies within the Sheria House compound.
3. Go over to counter No 1 and hand in your letter(s). You will need to pay Kshs 100 for every name that you wish to register. This is what is called “business name search”. The process takes three days, max (usually). You will receive a blue receipt.

4.Three days after handing in your letter, go back to Sheria House and show the attendant your receipt. If your chosen name is available for registration, you will receive a letter from the registrar of companies that, basically, tells you your name search was successful. You will also receive a form, Form BN/2.

5.What you need to do is fill out Form BN/2 as completely as possible. If you are registering a sole proprietorship, the part where it says “Particulars of proprietor or partners” will bear only one name, otherwise you can put in up to 20 partners (for a partnership).

6.Go back to Sheria House and hand in your completed Form BN/2. You will need to pay Kshs 800/-. After a week or so, you will have to go back to Sheria House to collect your business registration certificate. Congratulations, you shall then have registered a new business!

Adapted from http://likechapaa.com/

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Facts about Women Enterprise Fund

The fund was established through the promulgation of (women enterprise fund regulations) under section 25 & 32 of the government Financial Management ACT, 2005, Legal Notice no.147 dated 3rd August 2007.
The following questions and answers relating to the women enterprise fund cover all aspects of the fund.


Who are the target customers?
Kenyan women aged 18 years and above, who may be organized in registered groups or as individuals or companies owned by women.

Can men be members in women groups?
In a group set up, men can be included provided that 70 percent of, members are women who also hold all the leadership positions.

What are the sources of finance?
The fund receives 100 percent financial support from the government of Kenya.

Where can one go for the money?
Two places:
a) For individuals –from the nearest offices of selected financial intermediaries
b) For those organized in groups-from the offices of the district gender and social development officers (DG&SDOs) found at district head quarters

How can one access the funds?
There are two ways
a) For individuals- by applying for the loan from a preferred financial intermediary which then conducts their normal credit appraisal?
b) For groups- by feeling a standard loan application form under the constituency women enterprise scheme(C-WES). These forms are available for FREE from the offices of the DG&SDOS)

Is the money a loan or a grant (free donation)?
It is a subsidized loan that must be repaid to enable other to borrow
What is the interest rate on the fund accessed through the two intermediaries?
a) For financial intermediaries – the interest rate is 8 percent per year on a reducing balance.
b) Through C-WES – Zero (0 percent) interest rate and a one off administrative fee of 5 percent of the loan amount.

Are there hidden charges on these loans?
There are no hidden or additional charges except that some financial intermediaries may require the loan to be insured against death or permanent disability of the borrower at a minimal fee.

What is the maximum loan amount one can get and for how long?
a) From the financial intermediaries, up to KSh 500,000 for a maximum of 36 months. Amounts above half a million are recommended to the Funds Advisory Board for consideration
b) From C-WES channel- up to KSh 50,000 for a maximum of 12 months. The board is considering enhancing this amount in the next financial year(2009/2010)
What are the financial intermediaries and how are they selected?
Through a competitive and transparent open tendering process.
Currently they are Taifa Sacco, BIMAS, Cooperative Bank, Family Bank, Kenya Industrial Estate, Wakenya Pamoja, K-REP Development Agency, Jitegemea Credit Scheme, Mathira Sacco, Pamoja Women development Programme and small & Micro Enterprise Programme(SMEP). More partners will be recruited in the next financial year 2009/2010

What securities are accepted under the C-WES?
Simple security requirements that include: group guarantees, household items, business stock and quoted shares, etc.

Is there a grace period?
Yes, 3 months for money under the C-WES

When does the grace period start to run?
From the date the group receives the cheque from our field officers (DG&SDO) or when the money is directly credited to the account through the Electronic Funds Transfer

Where does one make or bank the C-WES loan repayments?
At any KCB branches country wide. Remember to write down the Group Names &
Account Number -1111394423, KCB Moi Avenue Branch, Nairobi. Other efficient modes of payment like M-PESA or ZAP are being explored.

If a constituency has lent its full allocation what happens?
As a revolving fund the repayment are used to lend to other groups in need.

What other services does the fund provide/plan to provide to serve their women clientele?
The fund supports capacity- building of the beneficiaries and their institutions. Other value adding services will be rolled out later like facilitation of marketing of products and services and linkages with large companies.

Internet work at home Jobs

There are many scams but give this your try and maybe you will hit if off just fine
check www.hits4play.com,www.workathomecareers.com,

BBC business plan competition

If you have that innovative idea let BBC help you put it to fruition with this business plan competition
go to www.bbcswahili.com

Digital Village Venture(Partnership)

Do you want to provide free local internet in a rural building for the benefit of people in the community?
You can enable Kenyans in the rural areas or the slums to perform the following tasks online free of charge by providing free local internet in a rural building:-
1.send and/or receive email;
2.read local newspapers;
3.visit websites hosted in Kenya;
4.view opportunities online;
5.download Government content.

This special offer is ideal for shopping centres, office blocks, hotels & clubs, community centres, social/church halls, public institutions, hospitals & clinics, etc.
The offer applies to any building open to the public that would like to be upgraded into a digital village that provides free local internet to members of the public.

Invest KShs. 58,000/- on a special offer from Kenya Data Networks (KDN) and ICTvillage.com for local internet connectivity that will upgrade a building of your choice in a rural area or slum into a digital village which serves members of the local community and enjoy the following key benefits, amongst many others:-
.WiMAX Customer Premise Equipment - Free Rental
.Site Installation (labour and materials) - Free Set-up
.Local Internet Connectivity (unlimited) - Free Access
.Global Internet Connectivity (s/cards) - 40% discount
.Digital Village Network (ICT Facility) - Free Membership
Membership in the Digital Village Network entitles ICT facilities
located in rural areas and slums to the following benefits:
.Negotiation of special deals for essential resources;
.Solutions for e-learning, e-business, and e-development;
.Linkages for distributing products and services online;
.Facilitation of financing for expansion and/or incubation;
.Online interface for processing transactions between parties.

Limited opportunities available in each constituency on a first come first served basis. This special offer is applicable only in areas covered by KDN's existing ICT infrastructure.

Please fill out and submit the following form to register for the special Internet Connectivity offered by Kenya Data Network (KDN) and ICTvillage.com on behalf of a rural building of your choice in Kenya. at http://www.ictvillage.com/building.asp

Business Incubation

Busienss incuabtion is all the rage this days. It is a a model thats gaining considerable grounds in kenya and the world over-for the right reasons.It provides star-ups a chance to pick up while still struggling to accumilate resources. Its the best bet for all those seeking to start businesses but have minimal capital.
But its not cheap,therefore one has to weigh the options in a given incubation program before joining.The following is a list of incubators in kenya:-

Kekobi
kekobi is one of the pioneer incibators in kenya.
check them out at http://www.kekobi.or.ke

Genius Executive Centre
Genius Executive Centre located on the 15th floor of View Park Towers, is a business incubator that helps keep start-up costs low,assist in marketing and possibly even finance businesses.They offer flexible office solutions for start-ups.
Check them out at
http://www.geniuscentre.com

KIRDI Technology Incubation
Kirdi(kenya industrial research and development institute)
In order to enhance its industrial and market competitiveness, the firm is currently under Technology/Business Incubation Project at the Kenya Industrial research and development institute center.
The KIRDI Board of Directors established the Technology Business Incubator in July 2006 with the aim of enhancing technology transfer and dissemination of the institute’s findings that have a national impact on economic development.

Technology incubation is a process that supports entrepreneurs and start up technology based enterprises in the development, assimilation, absorption, and utilization of requisite technology to accelerate their successful development. Along side the provision of the technical support, business development support is also provided.

It brings together all the necessary ingredients and environment for building the technological capability of the technology receipt to facilitate the technology transfer.
read more at http://www.kirdi.go.ke/BusinessIncubation.aspx

GOWE loans for business women

The Growth Oriented Women Enterprise (GOWE) program is financed by AfDB (African Development Bank) and managed by IFC (International Finance Corporation)
The program facilitates access to finance (loans) and capacity building for enterprises where women are majority share holders. (Min. 51% ownership). Access to finance is through commercial Bank of Africa (CFA) CFC Stanbic Bank And K Rep Bank.
For more detail go to http://www.ifc.org/ifcext/africa.nsf/Content/GOWE_Home

Low-cost Small Business Opportunities in Kenya

There are lots of low-cost small business opportunities in Kenya today. Let me wet your appetite a little with these tidbits from Small Business ken ya. These are 10 of the one hundred hottest small business opportunities in Kenya today.

1. Computer Consulting:
This is one of the hottest in demand businesses that you can start. If you know computers, your biggest problem will be not having enough hours in the day to serve all the clients. Computer consultants take a broader view of an organization and its computer needs in an effort to help them solve information-management problems of all kinds. They combine hardware and software expertise to explore possibilities for how a computer can help them accomplish their goals. Computer consultants do different types of work: Business requirements analysis, technical support, management of the system, maintenance of the system, software analysis, hardware acquisition and installation, periodic evaluations/audits, etc.

2. Tutoring:
Tutoring is one of the cheapest, easiest and profitable businesses to start, with a few business cards, brochures and flyers you can be in business today.

The prospects for tutoring look good in the years to come. The growing dissatisfaction in the quality of classroom education propels the growth of scholastic tutoring, both in subject areas and in preparing students for qualifying examinations. A tutor has an advantage of being able to offer individual attention. And he/she can particularize and customize what he/she teaches to the level and needs of each student. Many people prefer such individual instruction because it allows them to learn at their own pace without the pressure of peers or authorities.

3. Advertising Agency:
If you ever dream of launching your own small business, you can’t find a better opportunity today than the advertising field! Why? Because advertising is a growth industry. And, Advertising agency—with its low cost of entry, high profit margins and huge potential earnings—provides arguably one of the greatest small business opportunities. Advertisers spend billions of shillings each year to get their messages and products to their potential customers.

4. Videotaping Service:
You may not win a producer-of-the-year award, but you'll win the appreciation of your clients when you capture their weddings, graduations, parties, reunions, bar mitzvahs, birthdays and more on your camcorder. Keep the film rolling at special events, and then edit a final version for clients' own special screenings.

Airbrush Artist /painter
Athletic Recruiter/Scout
Auction House
Automotive Loan Broker
Animal/Pet Handler/ Psychologist
Band Manager
Bankruptcy Services
Barter Systems
Blade-Sharpening Service
Book writer/Publisher/Indexer
Cloth making
Cleaning Agency/Garbage collection
Credit management consultant/ Mortgage Loan Broker
Cake /Confectionaries maker/Decorator/
Courier service/Mail service/ Errant runner
Candle Maker
Cartoonist/Comedy writer /Storyteller
Child Care/Nanny Referral Service
Childbirth Instructor/Midwife
College Application Consultant
Counselor
Event organizer/Promoter/Decorator
First Aid/CPR Instructor
Florist
Garage Sale Coordinator
Graphic Design and Custom Printing/Calligrapher
Sculpting Artist
Incorporation Service for Businesses
Jewelry Designer
Knitting/Crocheting Lessons
Location Consultant
Laundry/Ironing Service
Law Library Management
Lawn Care Service/Gardener
Makeup Artist/Face painter/saloonist
Mobile Book/Magazine Distributor
Multilevel Marketing-
Nutrition Consultant
Personal Instructor/Fitness Trainer
Private Tutor
Public Relations Agency/image consultant
Real Estate Agency/ Apartment Preparation Service
Toy Cleaning/Repair Service
Tendering/supplies business
Travel Agency
The beauty with most of these businesses is they do not require you to have prior knowledge though this should not undermine the need to acquire it.

Join SMALL BUSINESS CONSULT on the web and benefit from resources that will help you succeed in business(coming soon)

Start Up Funding-internet based

Start up funding:
If you have a web based business idea and you need funding or consultancy,
please email in confidence to j.osanya@yahoo.com for review. We will support you both
technically and financially - if we like the idea.
or check us up at http://www.w3-host.com/

Social Media and Personal Branding

Gone are the days when you had to wait to be featured in a magazine, newspaper or TV program to become a household name. You now can propel your personal brand to the stratosphere in a very short time. You can use the power of social media to easily and quickly communicate your personal brand message to your target audience. Here is the “how-to” guide.
What is Social Media?
Social media are internet based tools for sharing and discussing information. These tools are designed to encourage participation and rely on users for their content (as opposed to an editorial team).
Social media websites allow sharing of opinions, insights, experiences and perspectives. They have become a popular stop for many internet users. There are not many ways of building your personal brand online, which are as effective as by using social media.
1. Video Sharing
You can use YouTube or other video sharing sites to enhance your personal brand. Starting a video blog is real easy if you have a good message or engaging personality.
YouTube has revolutionized video usage on the internet. It allows millions of users worldwide to watch video clips daily. You do not even need to be logged in to use YouTube. Creating an account allows you to add video, save favorite videos, create play lists, share play lists and create video channels.
Creating a YouTube video channel will put you at par with TV stations or other big brands. YouTube levels the playing field for brands and content creators. They even carry the cost of bandwidth and provide the service for free.
If you are good with video or not camera shy, you can really extend your brand, get your message across and engage your audience. YouTube has built in viral marketing features.
It allows viewers to be able to share videos by embedding them on other sites. YouTube also allows other websites to programmatically access their catalog, thus giving you wider exposure for your personal brand.
Check out YouTube on http://www.youtube.com
2. MySpace
MySpace is a social networking website with an interactive, user-submitted network of friends, personal profiles, blogs, groups, photos, music and videos.
You can use MySpace to build your network of friends and associates. You can use MySpace to build your Profile Page. The site allows you to customize your profile with music, colors, images and layouts.
Though no longer the most popular social networking website, it features over 100 million users and provides an array of features ideal for personal branding. If you are interested in bands and music, MySpace is the place to be. You can build a fan page and an outlet for letting out your music to a wide audience.
Check out MySpace on http://www.myspace.com
3. Facebook
Facebook users can join networks organized by city, workplace, school, and region to connect and interact with each other. People can also add friends and send them messages, and update their personal profiles to notify friends about themselves.
It is the most popular social networking website on the planet. The site provides an excellent array of features and privacy controls. You can make new friends on Facebook or keep a network of only close friends and family.
You can build your personal brand using the sites features such as Profiles, Fan Pages, Groups and Events. One of the most popular applications on Facebook is the Photos application, where users can upload albums and photos. Facebook allows users to upload an unlimited number of photos.
Check out Facebook on http://www.facebook.com
4. Twitter
Twitter is the new kid in the block of social media. It has taken the internet by storm. Twitter’s growth, according to Nielsen Online indicates that the site grew 1,382% year-over-year in February 2009. Twitter has Facebook scared and is said to have been the root cause of Facebook changing its page design recently.
Twitter is a micro-blogging service that allows users to share messages in 140 characters or less. A Twitter user is called a “Tweep”. A twitter user can “follow” others; they can also “unfollow” someone. If you are following me for example, you will be able to see my status updates. The status updates are called “Tweets”.
Big and small brands are heading to twitter. If you do not have a Twitter account, consider creating one and figure out the system from within. Once you create a Twitter account, please “follow” me http://twitter.com/
Many celebrities, brands and even countries are using Twitter including Ashton Kutcher, Oprah, BBC and Israel. Creating Twitter account takes 5 minutes at most and opens up a world of real time interactivity and personal brand building.
log on to twitter at www.twitter.com
5. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking site founded in December 2002 and launched in May 2003 mainly used for professional networking. As of May 2009, it had more than 39 million registered users, spanning 170 industries.
The purpose of the site is to allow registered users to maintain a list of contact details of people they know and trust in business. The people in the list are called Connections. Users can invite anyone (whether a site user or not) to become a connection.
This list of connections can then be used in a number of ways:
• A contact network is built up consisting of their direct connections, the connections of each of their connections (termed second degree connections) and also the connections of second degree connections (termed third degree connections). This can be used to gain an introduction to someone you wish to know through a mutual, trusted contact.
• It can then be used to find jobs, people and business opportunities recommended by someone in one’s contact network.
• Employers can list jobs and search for potential candidates.
• Job seekers can review the profile of hiring managers and discover which of their existing contacts can introduce them.
The “gated-access approach” (where contact with any professional requires either a preexisting relationship or the intervention of a contact of theirs) is intended to build trust among the service’s users. (Source: Wikipedia)
Create a LinkedIn Account to start building connections and promote your personal brand. It is a wildly popular professional networking site especially in the United States.
Check out LinkedIn on http://www.linkedin.com
6. Google
Behind the simplicity of the Google homepage is an array of power & social media features. Google is one of the most powerful brands in the world today and you can use their free services to enhance your personal brand.
• Google Alerts - You can set up Google Alerts to be notified instantly when someone mentions your name or anyone’s names on the internet.
• Google Groups - You can setup a group of like minded people to share views, opinions, documents, links or opinions. It is a good way of enhancing your personal brand in small targeted way. Highly recommended.
• Google Reader - It is a way of subscribing to multiple blogs using a technology called RSS (Really Simple Syndication). It helps you keep in the loop of what is going on in your area of interest.
• Google Calendar - A great calendar that I love. You can create to do lists, setup reminders and share your daily activities with colleagues.
• Google Mail - Gmail is a web based email from Google that has a search-oriented interface and a “conversation view” similar to an Internet forum.
experience google cool features by signing for Gmail at www.gmail.com
7. Online Forums
Online forums, also called bulletin boards or message boards are a great way to connect with others and build a profile online. People participating in an Internet forum may cultivate social bonds and interest groups for a topic may form from the discussions.
If you are passionate about a subject, find internet forums that talk about that topic. You can only build your personal brand on a forum if you participate as opposed to being a “lurker”.
Forums are “hang outs” on the internet. People spend hours upon hours on online forums talking, debating and sometimes arguing. Be careful what you say online forums. It may come back to haunt you and your personal brand.
An example of an online forum is http://www.webmasterworld.com which is an online forum for people who build websites or make a living online.
8. Social Bookmarking
Do you have an overflowing list of bookmarks on your computer? Or do you use a public computer? Did you know that you could store your bookmarks on certain websites? You can then access those bookmarks from any computer and share them with your friends.
Social Bookmarking is a method for Internet users to store, organize, search, and manage bookmarks of web pages on the Internet with the help of metadata, typically in the form of tags.
You can build your personal brand by being active on Social Bookmarking sites such as Digg, Delicious, Reddit, Propeller, StumbleUpon or Technorati.
9. Photo Sharing
A photo is worth a thousand words. You can use photos and images to communicate various aspects of your personal brand. You may want to showcase your latest holiday or your latest contacts. Whatever your reasons for wanting to share your photos, you can use the following sites effectively.
• Flickr - Flickr is an image and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community platform. It claims to host more than 3 billion images.
• Picasa Web - Picasa Web Albums (PWA) is a photo-sharing web application from Google. It allows users with accounts at Google to store and share 1 GB of photos for free.
10. Niche Media
Depending on what kind of personal brand you seek to build online, you can find small websites that will allow you to build your credibility, give and get value, and reach your target audience.
For example, if you run a small business, you may want to list your business in directories that are related to your business. For example, if you run a Web Design company and live in Toronto, you can list your business on a directory targeting “Toronto Web Designers“. That way, people searching for web design services in that city will be able to click to your website.
You can also visit and comment on blogs and websites related to your industry. You can sign up for newsletters or join mailing lists in your niche market.
There also some big sites that you can find a corner dealing with whatever you love. For example, a site like Amazon is huge, but has little corners for all sorts of niche ideas. You could be interested in books to do with Home beer brewing, or Hitler… whatever your interest you can find a group of people who share your interest in sites such as Amazon.com or ebay.com
Summary
I hope this blog post has inspired you to dig into a couple of social media sites to make new friends and promote your personal brand. Go Social. Build your brand.

Free Online KRA PIN Registration

Guide to KRA online PIN registration

Kenya Revenue Authority has launched an online portal to enable online registration of PIN (Personal Identification Number). Cyber café users should only pay for the usual cyber café fees.

You need to have the following information ready; ID Number, Date of birth, District of Birth, Mother’s Last Name, Father’s Last Name and your Year of Birth

To register for the PIN go to www.kra.go.ke/portal/.

On your right navigation click Taxpayer registration, under E-registration Services.

Next page is written “Welcome to KRA Online services.
Please enter your ‘User Id’ and ‘password’ to access to the system services.”

Click on the link New Taxpayer

Next page is written:
“KRA has some information from you that allows you get a PIN.”
Resident  Non Resident  Company 

Choose and click Validate

Next page; fill in the following; ID Number, Date of birth, District of Birth , Mother’s Last Name, Father’s Last Name and your Year of Birth. Note: For the Date of birth select day on the calendar, month (from the pull down menu) ; for year click the button with three dots. On the pull down menu 2009, and click on the – sign until you get to the year you were born.

The last page is straight forward, will need you to enter details depending on whether you are employed or self-employed, in business etc.
Download a pdf guide on PIN registration at w3-host.com

Kenya Agricultural Productivity Project (KAPP)

Kapp is a multi-sectoral venture jointly supported by the Government and the World Bank.
Its objective is to increase agricultural productivity by empowering farmers through an improved policy environment, support for more effective and efficient extension services and agricultural research.
These goal are to be achieved through three phases of a 12 year programme.
The first phase of three years entails an investment of $50 million (about Ksh 4 billion)
This will be carried out in 20 pilot districts to determine the most appropriate, effective and efficient delivery systems, methods and approaches for extension services.
Kapp hopes to facilitate empowerment of farmers to access and apply profitable technologies; lay the groundwork for an agricultural extension and learning system and integrate and rationalize the national agricultural research system.
Four delivery systems and six extension methods will be piloted in each programme area, including barazas, demonstrations and field days, short courses, group discussions, visits & tours and the mass media.
In addition, a number of extension financing mechanisms have been tried. These include common interest groups, government and extension service providers from public and private sector.
During the first phase, 110 youths were employed in the Kapp co-ordinating unit.
Kapp National Co-ordinator Samuel Muigai says one of the lessons learnt from the Kapp is that commercialisation of small-scale farming holds the key to jump-starting the economy.

The pilot districts
West Pokot, Nakuru, Trans-Nzoia, Nyandarua, Nyeri, Homa-Bay, Gucha, Siaya, Taita Taveta, Kilifi, Tana River, Kwale, Garissa, Wajir, Meru central, Makueni, Embu, Kakamega, Busia and Butere Mumias.
92 groups were chosen for processing, value addition and marketing 110 million has been used with each group getting at least 1 million

Chora Bizna competition

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in partnership with Enablis Entrepreneurial Network East Africa is running a National Business Plan Competition dubbed Chora Bizna"Enablis LaunchPad".

This is the Country’s 2nd National Business Plan Competition which is designed to stimulate and celebrate entrepreneurship, provide inspiration and support young individual entrepreneurs in setting up businesses. This competition aims to turn great ideas into thriving sustainable businesses. The competition targets 11 Million youth across the country and will be managed and executed by Enablis EA in partnership with the Ministry.

The Ministry organized a similar competition 2007 which saw over 5,000 entries and 300 youth trained. The competition was a resounding success. As a result, there has been a huge demand from the youth for another competition.
For more detail,go to http://www.chorabizna.co.ke/

JITIHADA

Jitihada is a Brand Name for the Kenya National Business Plan Competition which will be implemented within 12months. It is a sub-component of the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) competitiveness project, a World Bank funded five year project. The MSMEs project’s primary aim is to increase productivity and employment in participating MSME in Kenya.

The contract for JITIHADA was signed between the Kenya Institute of Management led consortium and the Ministry of Industrialization on 24th February 2009 at the ministry of industrialization offices.

The program has been designed to assist current and emerging entrepreneurs to overcome constraints faced by the MSME sector. It’s also intended to create an environment that spawns creative business ideas that can be effectively implemented within the context of the global economy. As such, the mission of Jitihada is to run and manage a Business Plan Competition (BPC) whose effort is to: Promote and support entrepreneurship and the development and growth of sustainable and globally competitive MSMEs, thus creating wealth and increasing employment, incomes and economic opportunity for the people of Kenya.

The program seeks to achieve the following specific objectives:
1) Increase the growth in MSME jobs and creating wealth by:
a) Enhancing dramatically the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship particularly among the youth of Kenya;
b) Provide targeted and relevant training and tools to new entrepreneurs and existing business;
c) Providing access to markets and market information, capital, New Technologies, space and equipment.
2) Create opportunities for micro-enterprises to transform into SMEs
3) Providing Networking and linkage opportunities for existing MSMEs and emerging entrepreneurs between and among the established private sector in Kenya
4) Supporting this growth by developing a locally-owned and managed business plan competition (BPC) program that will be self sustaining through ongoing private sector support and
5) Providing information and recommendations to relevant government entities regarding key legal and regulatory constraints to launching and growing MSMEs.

PROJECT IMPLEMENTORS

A three-partner consortium has been formed to undertake the project:
1) The Kenya institute of management which is a leading partner. The institute’s key objectives are to enhance the understanding of the small-scale enterprises by teaching, training, and conducting research and evaluation and to provide entrepreneurial education to management personnel and those who would like to start small-scale enterprises. The Kenya institute of management will be working with:
2) TechnoServe/Kenya (TNS/K) and
3) The Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology/Institute for Human Resource Development (IHRD/JKUAT)

The program will be implemented in all the eight provinces thereby giving equal opportunities to majority of Kenyans to participate. The competition is designed to incorporate 5 Stages: pre-competition, stage 1, stage 2, stage 3, and stage 4; the latter being the post-competition stage.

Competition Stages
The following will be the stages:


*
Pre-competition stage - Months 1 – 4 (4 months)
*
Competition stage I - Months 5 – 7 (3 months)
*
Competition stage 2 - Months 8 – 10 (3 months)
*
Competition stage 3 - Months 11 – 12 (2 months)

The competition will run for a period of 12 months. Activities involved in the four stages are detailed below:

Pre-competition stage
This will involve setting up systems to roll out the program.
Competition Stage I

This stage will begin by launching Jitihada and then followed by calls for application from interested parties where we expect to attract approximately 1,575 entrants. After applications have been received, we shall conduct initial screening and evaluate business ideas. Finally, we shall identify eligible forty percent (i.e. 630 participants out of the initial 1575 participants) of the competition entrants.
Competition Stage II
After successful completion of stage one, we shall then conduct training sessions, seminars and workshops (to train 630 in the 8 provinces), development of business ideas by participants with help of mentors, accept and evaluate draft business plans. Then the provincial competition will kick of, Judging and awards at provincial level, and feedback to the participants. 15-20% will proceed to national level and aftercare services will be provided for selected businesses that win business development service awards at the provincial level. We shall form alumni Associations to closely network with the participants.

Eventually we shall have 630 trained and mentored in all eight Provinces. The Provincial awards will be given out and the top finalist will proceed to national level.
Competition Stage III
At this stage, we shall then offer further training and mentoring for national competition participants, assist in further development of winning business plans, then judging takes place. Finally we shall have winners at the national level who will have finalized a well refined business plans. We shall then have the award ceremony and cash prices given to these winners. To encourage interaction and enhance relations, Alumni associations will be registered and feedback encouraged from the participants.

Post-competition
In this final stage, feedback on Jitihada process from all stakeholders will take place, as well as review design, process, training curriculum and materials. We shall also implement further targeted aftercare services and conduct follow-up with participants to assess impact (business income, growth in assets, employment creation, loan application and repayment, etc). Aftercare services will involve providing linkage with financial institutions, incubation and linkage to business development services.

(Thereafter, it will be critical to have a one day workshop to review the competition.)
This will help in improvement of competition design, process, curriculum, etc.

Participants’ Contribution
To demonstrate commitment and seriousness each applicant will pay a registration/ application fee of Kshs. 500.

Curriculum and Training
The training will be delivered in two sets of 5-days residential training, the first at the province and the national one in Nairobi. Depending on the number of applicants from each province, trainings will be held in 2 cohorts located in different towns in each province.

Eligibility and Judging Criteria
The general criteria for participation in the competition include the following:


* Any resident over the age of 18 that seeks to invest in Kenya by starting a new business venture, or expanding or diversifying an already existing one
* Existing business which have less than 99 employees at the time of application
* No employees of the Jitihada consortium may participate
* The content of all submissions must be the original work of the individual submitting the idea

Judges for the competition will include: venture capitalist, private investors, bankers, established entrepreneurs, industry and technical experts. For a business plan to ultimately be a ‘winner’ there must be at least one financial institution willing to finance it. Winners are of course under no obligation to accept financing from any institution.


AWARDS

Provincial Awards

Total Number = 24 (Top 3 entrepreneurs x 8 Provinces)

Award Value (Kshs.)
First Prize 100,000
Second Prize 75,000
Third Prize 50,000
Special Awards*
Best Woman Entrepreneur 50,000
Social Entrepreneur 50,000

National Awards
Award Value (Kshs.)
First Prize 1 million
Second Prize 750,000
Third Prize 500,000
Special Awards*
Best Woman Entrepreneur 250,000
Social Entrepreneur 250,000

*Special awards are expected to be contributed by private sector sponsors.

Aftercare BDS Services
Aftercare for the BPC finalists aims to identify and remove constraints to growth. Working with Business Development Services consultants an audit of each business will be conducted to identify constraints to growth and build their capacity in; book-keeping, accounting, marketing skills, markets linkages, business planning and management skills. The business development services will include specific areas such as business growth and marketing strategy, production planning, human resource management, financial management and financial linkages. As a result, the 25 businesses are expected to increase their revenues by at least 5% above their normal revenue growth and increase employment by at least 2 people over a period of one year.
For more detail go to http://www.kim.ac.ke/news/newsarticle.asp?newsid={41481481482}