Listers, Allow me to post a question on the group - which is the question I had in mind to present to CS Joe Mucheru. Mine is a burning question on how to incentivize the startup eco-system, including: 1. How to make the business registration process a bit less hectic. 2. Tax breaks for some amount of time during which they operate to pick up business and traction around this. Having managed the eco-system in Mombasa for a while, I think you end up finding potential kids and other chaps having ideas, but who can not enter into some contests or can not be eligible to enroll to specific support frameworks because of their lack of a business registration certificate. Which is sad, to see such potential go all the way down the drain because of financial or other constraints. There is a pipeline issue for potential startups here that needs to be resolved, but how can we work together around this? -- *Ahmed Maawy* Executive Director - SwahiliBox / M-Power (CBO) Ambassador - Open Knowledge Director - Startup Grind Mombasa Software Developer - AJ+ / EveryLayer (KE) +254 714 960 627 Skype: ultimateprogramer swahilibox.co.ke www.okfn.org <http://okfn.org/> startupgrind.com ajplus.net www.everylayer.com
Sometime back while I was in Uganda I had a chat with an individual at Uganda's equivalent of CA. One thing he mentioned in our conversation was that starting businesses have a grace period in Uganda where they don't need to pay taxes. Last I checked Uganda was up there among the leading countries globally in entrepreneurship, not sure the two are linked. Regards, Martin Gicheru Editor, Techweez On Mon, Feb 1, 2016 at 3:03 PM, Ahmed Mohamed Maawy via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Listers,
Allow me to post a question on the group - which is the question I had in mind to present to CS Joe Mucheru. Mine is a burning question on how to incentivize the startup eco-system, including:
1. How to make the business registration process a bit less hectic. 2. Tax breaks for some amount of time during which they operate to pick up business and traction around this.
Having managed the eco-system in Mombasa for a while, I think you end up finding potential kids and other chaps having ideas, but who can not enter into some contests or can not be eligible to enroll to specific support frameworks because of their lack of a business registration certificate. Which is sad, to see such potential go all the way down the drain because of financial or other constraints. There is a pipeline issue for potential startups here that needs to be resolved, but how can we work together around this?
-- *Ahmed Maawy* Executive Director - SwahiliBox / M-Power (CBO) Ambassador - Open Knowledge Director - Startup Grind Mombasa Software Developer - AJ+ / EveryLayer (KE) +254 714 960 627 Skype: ultimateprogramer
swahilibox.co.ke www.okfn.org <http://okfn.org/> startupgrind.com ajplus.net www.everylayer.com
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
I have been asked by several people why I haven't yet registered ROFFEKE as a business. One word: taxes. If there was a grace period, then this would encourage so many Kenyans to venture into business. Starting a business is difficult enough without the added worry of taxes in year one of operation. Regarding the business registration process, I think websites like inc.co.ke make this process less hectic. On Monday, February 1, 2016, Ahmed Mohamed Maawy via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Listers,
Allow me to post a question on the group - which is the question I had in mind to present to CS Joe Mucheru. Mine is a burning question on how to incentivize the startup eco-system, including:
1. How to make the business registration process a bit less hectic. 2. Tax breaks for some amount of time during which they operate to pick up business and traction around this.
Having managed the eco-system in Mombasa for a while, I think you end up finding potential kids and other chaps having ideas, but who can not enter into some contests or can not be eligible to enroll to specific support frameworks because of their lack of a business registration certificate. Which is sad, to see such potential go all the way down the drain because of financial or other constraints. There is a pipeline issue for potential startups here that needs to be resolved, but how can we work together around this?
-- *Ahmed Maawy* Executive Director - SwahiliBox / M-Power (CBO) Ambassador - Open Knowledge Director - Startup Grind Mombasa Software Developer - AJ+ / EveryLayer (KE) +254 714 960 627 Skype: ultimateprogramer
swahilibox.co.ke www.okfn.org <http://okfn.org/> startupgrind.com ajplus.net www.everylayer.com
-- Check out the Rock 'n' roll film festival, Kenya TV Channel! http://kenyarockfilmfestivaljournal.blogspot.com
Hi Listers, There is a deliberate move to ease the registration of businesses through the recently set up Business Registration Service Board under the office of the AG, lets hope that they will deliver as they are promising. The idea of giving tax incentives to tech start up's is awesome however we will see all sorts of start ups asking for tax breaks not just tech start ups. Something definitely has to change in regards to business registration in order to boost the ecosystem. Regards, Rosemary Koech-Kimwatu Tel +254 718181644/771632344 Twitter:@Chemu_koech Skype:Rosemary Koech-Kimwatu Linked In: Rosemary Koech-Kimwatu On Mon, Feb 1, 2016 at 4:08 PM, Mildred Achoch via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
I have been asked by several people why I haven't yet registered ROFFEKE as a business. One word: taxes. If there was a grace period, then this would encourage so many Kenyans to venture into business. Starting a business is difficult enough without the added worry of taxes in year one of operation. Regarding the business registration process, I think websites like inc.co.ke make this process less hectic.
On Monday, February 1, 2016, Ahmed Mohamed Maawy via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Listers,
Allow me to post a question on the group - which is the question I had in mind to present to CS Joe Mucheru. Mine is a burning question on how to incentivize the startup eco-system, including:
1. How to make the business registration process a bit less hectic. 2. Tax breaks for some amount of time during which they operate to pick up business and traction around this.
Having managed the eco-system in Mombasa for a while, I think you end up finding potential kids and other chaps having ideas, but who can not enter into some contests or can not be eligible to enroll to specific support frameworks because of their lack of a business registration certificate. Which is sad, to see such potential go all the way down the drain because of financial or other constraints. There is a pipeline issue for potential startups here that needs to be resolved, but how can we work together around this?
-- *Ahmed Maawy* Executive Director - SwahiliBox / M-Power (CBO) Ambassador - Open Knowledge Director - Startup Grind Mombasa Software Developer - AJ+ / EveryLayer (KE) +254 714 960 627 Skype: ultimateprogramer
swahilibox.co.ke www.okfn.org <http://okfn.org/> startupgrind.com ajplus.net www.everylayer.com
-- Check out the Rock 'n' roll film festival, Kenya TV Channel! http://kenyarockfilmfestivaljournal.blogspot.com
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
Tech or no tech... A healthy economy has to support early stage startups I would guess, of any form :) The strength of our economy is directly related to how strong the SME sector will be in general. Other than that, I think doing it to the tech sector alone can be under the pretext of "we need to support tech". I think people were happy when Kibaki brought down taxes for IT equipment under the pretext of "growing the ICT sector". No one stood up to complain that that should happen for household appliances... On Tue, Feb 2, 2016 at 12:59 PM, Rosemary Koech-Kimwatu via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hi Listers,
There is a deliberate move to ease the registration of businesses through the recently set up Business Registration Service Board under the office of the AG, lets hope that they will deliver as they are promising. The idea of giving tax incentives to tech start up's is awesome however we will see all sorts of start ups asking for tax breaks not just tech start ups. Something definitely has to change in regards to business registration in order to boost the ecosystem.
Regards,
Rosemary Koech-Kimwatu Tel +254 718181644/771632344 Twitter:@Chemu_koech Skype:Rosemary Koech-Kimwatu Linked In: Rosemary Koech-Kimwatu
On Mon, Feb 1, 2016 at 4:08 PM, Mildred Achoch via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
I have been asked by several people why I haven't yet registered ROFFEKE as a business. One word: taxes. If there was a grace period, then this would encourage so many Kenyans to venture into business. Starting a business is difficult enough without the added worry of taxes in year one of operation. Regarding the business registration process, I think websites like inc.co.ke make this process less hectic.
On Monday, February 1, 2016, Ahmed Mohamed Maawy via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Listers,
Allow me to post a question on the group - which is the question I had in mind to present to CS Joe Mucheru. Mine is a burning question on how to incentivize the startup eco-system, including:
1. How to make the business registration process a bit less hectic. 2. Tax breaks for some amount of time during which they operate to pick up business and traction around this.
Having managed the eco-system in Mombasa for a while, I think you end up finding potential kids and other chaps having ideas, but who can not enter into some contests or can not be eligible to enroll to specific support frameworks because of their lack of a business registration certificate. Which is sad, to see such potential go all the way down the drain because of financial or other constraints. There is a pipeline issue for potential startups here that needs to be resolved, but how can we work together around this?
-- *Ahmed Maawy* Executive Director - SwahiliBox / M-Power (CBO) Ambassador - Open Knowledge Director - Startup Grind Mombasa Software Developer - AJ+ / EveryLayer (KE) +254 714 960 627 Skype: ultimateprogramer
swahilibox.co.ke www.okfn.org <http://okfn.org/> startupgrind.com ajplus.net www.everylayer.com
-- Check out the Rock 'n' roll film festival, Kenya TV Channel! http://kenyarockfilmfestivaljournal.blogspot.com
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
-- *Ahmed Maawy* Executive Director - SwahiliBox / M-Power (CBO) Ambassador - Open Knowledge Director - Startup Grind Mombasa Software Developer - AJ+ / EveryLayer (KE) +254 714 960 627 Skype: ultimateprogramer swahilibox.co.ke www.okfn.org <http://okfn.org/> startupgrind.com ajplus.net www.everylayer.com
Registering a business in Kenya is a nightmare. I have used the new online platform(ecitizen) and there's nothing good to talk about it. Not only did I lose money after making several mpesa transactions, the system has no support process. A dark hole it is! For fear of losing "broking" opportunities, my view is that the very people inside Sheria are sabotaging the system. We have a long way to go as a country. On Tue, Feb 2, 2016 at 12:59 PM, Rosemary Koech-Kimwatu via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hi Listers,
There is a deliberate move to ease the registration of businesses through the recently set up Business Registration Service Board under the office of the AG, lets hope that they will deliver as they are promising. The idea of giving tax incentives to tech start up's is awesome however we will see all sorts of start ups asking for tax breaks not just tech start ups. Something definitely has to change in regards to business registration in order to boost the ecosystem.
Regards,
Rosemary Koech-Kimwatu Tel +254 718181644/771632344 Twitter:@Chemu_koech Skype:Rosemary Koech-Kimwatu Linked In: Rosemary Koech-Kimwatu
On Mon, Feb 1, 2016 at 4:08 PM, Mildred Achoch via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
I have been asked by several people why I haven't yet registered ROFFEKE as a business. One word: taxes. If there was a grace period, then this would encourage so many Kenyans to venture into business. Starting a business is difficult enough without the added worry of taxes in year one of operation. Regarding the business registration process, I think websites like inc.co.ke make this process less hectic.
On Monday, February 1, 2016, Ahmed Mohamed Maawy via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Listers,
Allow me to post a question on the group - which is the question I had in mind to present to CS Joe Mucheru. Mine is a burning question on how to incentivize the startup eco-system, including:
1. How to make the business registration process a bit less hectic. 2. Tax breaks for some amount of time during which they operate to pick up business and traction around this.
Having managed the eco-system in Mombasa for a while, I think you end up finding potential kids and other chaps having ideas, but who can not enter into some contests or can not be eligible to enroll to specific support frameworks because of their lack of a business registration certificate. Which is sad, to see such potential go all the way down the drain because of financial or other constraints. There is a pipeline issue for potential startups here that needs to be resolved, but how can we work together around this?
-- *Ahmed Maawy* Executive Director - SwahiliBox / M-Power (CBO) Ambassador - Open Knowledge Director - Startup Grind Mombasa Software Developer - AJ+ / EveryLayer (KE) +254 714 960 627 Skype: ultimateprogramer
swahilibox.co.ke www.okfn.org <http://okfn.org/> startupgrind.com ajplus.net www.everylayer.com
-- Check out the Rock 'n' roll film festival, Kenya TV Channel! http://kenyarockfilmfestivaljournal.blogspot.com
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
On Feb 2, 2016 1:14 PM, "James Muritu via kictanet" < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Registering a business in Kenya is a nightmare. I have used the new
online platform(ecitizen) and there's nothing good to talk about it. Not only did I lose money after making several mpesa transactions, the system has no support process. A dark hole it is! For fear of losing "broking" opportunities, my view is that the very people inside Sheria are sabotaging the system. We have a long way to go as a country.
Hi James, sometimes back, ICTA was crowdsourcing form the community on how they can make the ecitizen portal and othet e-government services more efficient and useful. Probably you can share your experience on the list. I'm sure the guys at ICTA will pick up the feedback, which will help improve the platform(s) further. Regards
Well I agree with the discussions so far but I find the startup ecosystem very biased toward tech startups. I am particularly concerned because I ran an early stage startup focused on marketing and communication services and most people I have talked to dont find it necessary to invest in us even after proof of concept and scalability. All of us cannot be programmers and innovators somebody has to offer the critical support services (strategy, branding, marketing etc) needed to take the innovations to market. So far I have found it practically very hard finding investors (angels and VCs) to put their expertise and resources in startups that are not purely tech. Hopefully somebody can shed light on this On Tue, Feb 2, 2016 at 6:11 PM, Mwendwa Kivuva via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
On Feb 2, 2016 1:14 PM, "James Muritu via kictanet" < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Registering a business in Kenya is a nightmare. I have used the new
online platform(ecitizen) and there's nothing good to talk about it. Not only did I lose money after making several mpesa transactions, the system has no support process. A dark hole it is! For fear of losing "broking" opportunities, my view is that the very people inside Sheria are sabotaging the system. We have a long way to go as a country.
Hi James, sometimes back, ICTA was crowdsourcing form the community on how they can make the ecitizen portal and othet e-government services more efficient and useful. Probably you can share your experience on the list. I'm sure the guys at ICTA will pick up the feedback, which will help improve the platform(s) further.
Regards
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
-- *"You can just hang outside in the sun all day tossing a ball around...Or you can sit at your computer and do something that matters."- Cartman* ____________________________________________________________________________
In addition, it may also be useful to have an incubation platform where different professionals such as established techies, lawyers, marketers, accountants and tax experts can give free advice and mentorship to startups. I remember sometime back there was such an initiative and many professionals made time to guide the up and coming. Some friendships and partnerships also developed therefrom. Regards, Tarehe 1 Feb 2016 4:09 PM, "Mildred Achoch via kictanet" < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> aliandika:
I have been asked by several people why I haven't yet registered ROFFEKE as a business. One word: taxes. If there was a grace period, then this would encourage so many Kenyans to venture into business. Starting a business is difficult enough without the added worry of taxes in year one of operation. Regarding the business registration process, I think websites like inc.co.ke make this process less hectic.
On Monday, February 1, 2016, Ahmed Mohamed Maawy via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Listers,
Allow me to post a question on the group - which is the question I had in mind to present to CS Joe Mucheru. Mine is a burning question on how to incentivize the startup eco-system, including:
1. How to make the business registration process a bit less hectic. 2. Tax breaks for some amount of time during which they operate to pick up business and traction around this.
Having managed the eco-system in Mombasa for a while, I think you end up finding potential kids and other chaps having ideas, but who can not enter into some contests or can not be eligible to enroll to specific support frameworks because of their lack of a business registration certificate. Which is sad, to see such potential go all the way down the drain because of financial or other constraints. There is a pipeline issue for potential startups here that needs to be resolved, but how can we work together around this?
-- *Ahmed Maawy* Executive Director - SwahiliBox / M-Power (CBO) Ambassador - Open Knowledge Director - Startup Grind Mombasa Software Developer - AJ+ / EveryLayer (KE) +254 714 960 627 Skype: ultimateprogramer
swahilibox.co.ke www.okfn.org <http://okfn.org/> startupgrind.com ajplus.net www.everylayer.com
-- Check out the Rock 'n' roll film festival, Kenya TV Channel! http://kenyarockfilmfestivaljournal.blogspot.com
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
Hi Everyone, Personally I think this focus on "making easy to register a business" is misplaced, the focus should instead be on making easier "having a business". Annoying as the registration process may be, it is only a one-off process once it's done it will not bother you again - whereas the processes you have to complete on a monthly, quarterly, yearly introduces overhead time and time again. My favorite example is ofcourse all the monthly statutory payments, NSSF, NHIF, KRA, NITA, etc all have their own individual process. Each institution have their own process, their own collection procedure, their own queue's. You can easily spend several hours completing a monthly return - for each of them. Why can't they work together so that you go to ONE place and perform ONE payment, then they could split the collections between them self. A few years back it was announced that KRA would start becoming a collection point for NSSF, this was a step in the right direction. The day before it was supposed to go into effect it was announced that it was postponed due to the IT-systems not being compatible.... (the inital iTax version even had a non-working button for it) Second example would be the requirements for nil-returns, often when you see someone registering a new company they are quite "green" in terms of what their obligations are, there is a learning curve to climb. Often you find startup's in a situation where they had been caught unaware about the need to file nil-returns, and the business activities they had planned is delayed for whatever reason. Why is it even necessary to file a nil return (?), could it not be assumed that if nothing else is filed then it's a nil-return... Yes there are practical (and maybe legal) reasons but it really should be possible to work around this and make it unnecessary to file nil-returns. On the bright side the new company act removes the need to have an official company secretary to do your annual legal return - that is a clear improvement for startups and helps reduce the overall overhead. .. Mike On 2/1/16 3:03 PM, Ahmed Mohamed Maawy via kictanet wrote:
1. How to make the business registration process a bit less hectic. 2. Tax breaks for some amount of time during which they operate to pick up business and traction around this.
Having managed the eco-system in Mombasa for a while, I think you end up finding potential kids and other chaps having ideas, but who can not enter into some contests or can not be eligible to enroll to specific support frameworks because of their lack of a business registration certificate. Which is sad, to see such potential go all the way down the drain because of financial or other constraints.
There is a pipeline issue for potential startups here that needs to be resolved, but how can we work together around this?
Move value and impact i think would arise of the issue was making doing business easier, and not just registration. On Wed, Feb 3, 2016 at 11:35 AM, Michael Pedersen via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hi Everyone,
Personally I think this focus on "making easy to register a business" is misplaced, the focus should instead be on making easier "having a business". Annoying as the registration process may be, it is only a one-off process once it's done it will not bother you again - whereas the processes you have to complete on a monthly, quarterly, yearly introduces overhead time and time again.
My favorite example is ofcourse all the monthly statutory payments, NSSF, NHIF, KRA, NITA, etc all have their own individual process. Each institution have their own process, their own collection procedure, their own queue's. You can easily spend several hours completing a monthly return - for each of them. Why can't they work together so that you go to ONE place and perform ONE payment, then they could split the collections between them self. A few years back it was announced that KRA would start becoming a collection point for NSSF, this was a step in the right direction. The day before it was supposed to go into effect it was announced that it was postponed due to the IT-systems not being compatible.... (the inital iTax version even had a non-working button for it)
Second example would be the requirements for nil-returns, often when you see someone registering a new company they are quite "green" in terms of what their obligations are, there is a learning curve to climb. Often you find startup's in a situation where they had been caught unaware about the need to file nil-returns, and the business activities they had planned is delayed for whatever reason. Why is it even necessary to file a nil return (?), could it not be assumed that if nothing else is filed then it's a nil-return... Yes there are practical (and maybe legal) reasons but it really should be possible to work around this and make it unnecessary to file nil-returns.
On the bright side the new company act removes the need to have an official company secretary to do your annual legal return - that is a clear improvement for startups and helps reduce the overall overhead.
.. Mike
On 2/1/16 3:03 PM, Ahmed Mohamed Maawy via kictanet wrote:
1. How to make the business registration process a bit less hectic. 2. Tax breaks for some amount of time during which they operate to pick up business and traction around this.
Having managed the eco-system in Mombasa for a while, I think you end up finding potential kids and other chaps having ideas, but who can not enter into some contests or can not be eligible to enroll to specific support frameworks because of their lack of a business registration certificate. Which is sad, to see such potential go all the way down the drain because of financial or other constraints. There is a pipeline issue for potential startups here that needs to be resolved, but how can we work together around this?
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
Listers, Allow me to offer a divergent view. Whereas I’m a agreeable to easing the process of registering and more so doing business, I think that tax and any other financial breaks is not sustainable and could be counterproductive, ultimately. The viability of a business rests in the full monetary and fiscal compliance. If these components are not factored into the books from day one, then the bottom line will not reflect the true viability of the business and when introduced at a later stage, the business will struggle to remain afloat. I’d suggest we think of how the government can help innovators transition to entrepreneurs by gaining some business acumen including full compliance to fiscal policies. Ted Ogonda, Regional Manager, Systems Engineering - Cisco East Africa & The Maghreb
On Feb 3, 2016, at 1:43 PM, Rad! via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Move value and impact i think would arise of the issue was making doing business easier, and not just registration.
On Wed, Feb 3, 2016 at 11:35 AM, Michael Pedersen via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke <mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke>> wrote: Hi Everyone,
Personally I think this focus on "making easy to register a business" is misplaced, the focus should instead be on making easier "having a business". Annoying as the registration process may be, it is only a one-off process once it's done it will not bother you again - whereas the processes you have to complete on a monthly, quarterly, yearly introduces overhead time and time again.
My favorite example is ofcourse all the monthly statutory payments, NSSF, NHIF, KRA, NITA, etc all have their own individual process. Each institution have their own process, their own collection procedure, their own queue's. You can easily spend several hours completing a monthly return - for each of them. Why can't they work together so that you go to ONE place and perform ONE payment, then they could split the collections between them self. A few years back it was announced that KRA would start becoming a collection point for NSSF, this was a step in the right direction. The day before it was supposed to go into effect it was announced that it was postponed due to the IT-systems not being compatible.... (the inital iTax version even had a non-working button for it)
Second example would be the requirements for nil-returns, often when you see someone registering a new company they are quite "green" in terms of what their obligations are, there is a learning curve to climb. Often you find startup's in a situation where they had been caught unaware about the need to file nil-returns, and the business activities they had planned is delayed for whatever reason. Why is it even necessary to file a nil return (?), could it not be assumed that if nothing else is filed then it's a nil-return... Yes there are practical (and maybe legal) reasons but it really should be possible to work around this and make it unnecessary to file nil-returns.
On the bright side the new company act removes the need to have an official company secretary to do your annual legal return - that is a clear improvement for startups and helps reduce the overall overhead.
.. Mike
On 2/1/16 3:03 PM, Ahmed Mohamed Maawy via kictanet wrote:
How to make the business registration process a bit less hectic. Tax breaks for some amount of time during which they operate to pick up business and traction around this. Having managed the eco-system in Mombasa for a while, I think you end up finding potential kids and other chaps having ideas, but who can not enter into some contests or can not be eligible to enroll to specific support frameworks because of their lack of a business registration certificate. Which is sad, to see such potential go all the way down the drain because of financial or other constraints. There is a pipeline issue for potential startups here that needs to be resolved, but how can we work together around this?
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
Its an interesting point of view, which is true. The idea is that the start-up stages of business are the most complicated and critical stages in a business and can determine whether it does stabilize or not. Hence the initial tax breaks, which are present in more established economies in the world. Kenya will not be the first. The more we support early stage start-ups the more we create a productive economy. On Thu, Feb 4, 2016 at 10:24 AM, Ted Ogonda via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Listers,
Allow me to offer a divergent view. Whereas I’m a agreeable to easing the process of registering and more so doing business, I think that tax and any other financial breaks is not sustainable and could be counterproductive, ultimately. The viability of a business rests in the full monetary and fiscal compliance. If these components are not factored into the books from day one, then the bottom line will not reflect the true viability of the business and when introduced at a later stage, the business will struggle to remain afloat.
I’d suggest we think of how the government can help innovators transition to entrepreneurs by gaining some business acumen including full compliance to fiscal policies.
Ted Ogonda, Regional Manager, Systems Engineering - Cisco East Africa & The Maghreb
On Feb 3, 2016, at 1:43 PM, Rad! via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Move value and impact i think would arise of the issue was making doing business easier, and not just registration.
On Wed, Feb 3, 2016 at 11:35 AM, Michael Pedersen via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hi Everyone,
Personally I think this focus on "making easy to register a business" is misplaced, the focus should instead be on making easier "having a business". Annoying as the registration process may be, it is only a one-off process once it's done it will not bother you again - whereas the processes you have to complete on a monthly, quarterly, yearly introduces overhead time and time again.
My favorite example is ofcourse all the monthly statutory payments, NSSF, NHIF, KRA, NITA, etc all have their own individual process. Each institution have their own process, their own collection procedure, their own queue's. You can easily spend several hours completing a monthly return - for each of them. Why can't they work together so that you go to ONE place and perform ONE payment, then they could split the collections between them self. A few years back it was announced that KRA would start becoming a collection point for NSSF, this was a step in the right direction. The day before it was supposed to go into effect it was announced that it was postponed due to the IT-systems not being compatible.... (the inital iTax version even had a non-working button for it)
Second example would be the requirements for nil-returns, often when you see someone registering a new company they are quite "green" in terms of what their obligations are, there is a learning curve to climb. Often you find startup's in a situation where they had been caught unaware about the need to file nil-returns, and the business activities they had planned is delayed for whatever reason. Why is it even necessary to file a nil return (?), could it not be assumed that if nothing else is filed then it's a nil-return... Yes there are practical (and maybe legal) reasons but it really should be possible to work around this and make it unnecessary to file nil-returns.
On the bright side the new company act removes the need to have an official company secretary to do your annual legal return - that is a clear improvement for startups and helps reduce the overall overhead.
.. Mike
On 2/1/16 3:03 PM, Ahmed Mohamed Maawy via kictanet wrote:
1. How to make the business registration process a bit less hectic. 2. Tax breaks for some amount of time during which they operate to pick up business and traction around this.
Having managed the eco-system in Mombasa for a while, I think you end up finding potential kids and other chaps having ideas, but who can not enter into some contests or can not be eligible to enroll to specific support frameworks because of their lack of a business registration certificate. Which is sad, to see such potential go all the way down the drain because of financial or other constraints. There is a pipeline issue for potential startups here that needs to be resolved, but how can we work together around this?
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/conradakunga%40gmail.c...
The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ultimateprogramer%40gm...
The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
-- *Ahmed Maawy* Executive Director - SwahiliBox / M-Power (CBO) Ambassador - Open Knowledge Director - Startup Grind Mombasa Software Developer - AJ+ / EveryLayer (KE) +254 714 960 627 Skype: ultimateprogramer swahilibox.co.ke www.okfn.org <http://okfn.org/> startupgrind.com ajplus.net www.everylayer.com
@Ted I wouldn't look at it that way. This is not about giving them free reign - it is about lowering the barriers to entry and allowing them to find their footing. If we look at things from your perspective then maybe startups should also not be given loans since they might not be able to pay them back? Startups are largely about experimenting and it's hard enough getting your business off the ground without having to worry about additional legal/tax hurdles. I believe it's about making entrepreneurship and business creation more attractive to potential entrepreneurs not about doing them favours. -Billy 2016-02-04 13:08 GMT+03:00 Ahmed Mohamed Maawy via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke>:
Its an interesting point of view, which is true. The idea is that the start-up stages of business are the most complicated and critical stages in a business and can determine whether it does stabilize or not. Hence the initial tax breaks, which are present in more established economies in the world. Kenya will not be the first. The more we support early stage start-ups the more we create a productive economy.
On Thu, Feb 4, 2016 at 10:24 AM, Ted Ogonda via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Listers,
Allow me to offer a divergent view. Whereas I’m a agreeable to easing the process of registering and more so doing business, I think that tax and any other financial breaks is not sustainable and could be counterproductive, ultimately. The viability of a business rests in the full monetary and fiscal compliance. If these components are not factored into the books from day one, then the bottom line will not reflect the true viability of the business and when introduced at a later stage, the business will struggle to remain afloat.
I’d suggest we think of how the government can help innovators transition to entrepreneurs by gaining some business acumen including full compliance to fiscal policies.
Ted Ogonda, Regional Manager, Systems Engineering - Cisco East Africa & The Maghreb
On Feb 3, 2016, at 1:43 PM, Rad! via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Move value and impact i think would arise of the issue was making doing business easier, and not just registration.
On Wed, Feb 3, 2016 at 11:35 AM, Michael Pedersen via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hi Everyone,
Personally I think this focus on "making easy to register a business" is misplaced, the focus should instead be on making easier "having a business". Annoying as the registration process may be, it is only a one-off process once it's done it will not bother you again - whereas the processes you have to complete on a monthly, quarterly, yearly introduces overhead time and time again.
My favorite example is ofcourse all the monthly statutory payments, NSSF, NHIF, KRA, NITA, etc all have their own individual process. Each institution have their own process, their own collection procedure, their own queue's. You can easily spend several hours completing a monthly return - for each of them. Why can't they work together so that you go to ONE place and perform ONE payment, then they could split the collections between them self. A few years back it was announced that KRA would start becoming a collection point for NSSF, this was a step in the right direction. The day before it was supposed to go into effect it was announced that it was postponed due to the IT-systems not being compatible.... (the inital iTax version even had a non-working button for it)
Second example would be the requirements for nil-returns, often when you see someone registering a new company they are quite "green" in terms of what their obligations are, there is a learning curve to climb. Often you find startup's in a situation where they had been caught unaware about the need to file nil-returns, and the business activities they had planned is delayed for whatever reason. Why is it even necessary to file a nil return (?), could it not be assumed that if nothing else is filed then it's a nil-return... Yes there are practical (and maybe legal) reasons but it really should be possible to work around this and make it unnecessary to file nil-returns.
On the bright side the new company act removes the need to have an official company secretary to do your annual legal return - that is a clear improvement for startups and helps reduce the overall overhead.
.. Mike
On 2/1/16 3:03 PM, Ahmed Mohamed Maawy via kictanet wrote:
1. How to make the business registration process a bit less hectic. 2. Tax breaks for some amount of time during which they operate to pick up business and traction around this.
Having managed the eco-system in Mombasa for a while, I think you end up finding potential kids and other chaps having ideas, but who can not enter into some contests or can not be eligible to enroll to specific support frameworks because of their lack of a business registration certificate. Which is sad, to see such potential go all the way down the drain because of financial or other constraints. There is a pipeline issue for potential startups here that needs to be resolved, but how can we work together around this?
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/conradakunga%40gmail.c...
The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ultimateprogramer%40gm...
The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
-- *Ahmed Maawy* Executive Director - SwahiliBox / M-Power (CBO) Ambassador - Open Knowledge Director - Startup Grind Mombasa Software Developer - AJ+ / EveryLayer (KE) +254 714 960 627 Skype: ultimateprogramer
swahilibox.co.ke www.okfn.org <http://okfn.org/> startupgrind.com ajplus.net www.everylayer.com
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
participants (12)
-
Ahmed Mohamed Maawy -
Amos Ochieng -
Billy -
Grace Mutung'u (Bomu) -
James Muritu -
Martin Gicheru -
Michael Pedersen -
Mildred Achoch -
Mwendwa Kivuva -
Rad! -
Rosemary Koech-Kimwatu -
Ted Ogonda