By Billy Mijungu
For many years the conversation on ease of doing business has been reduced to a very narrow set of parameters. We have often measured it by how quickly one can register a company or how fast the certificate of incorporation can be obtained. We have looked at compliance checklists at the beginning of a business journey and used them as the scorecard of progress. But in truth ease of doing business means a lot more than that.
It is not enough to say that Kenya or any other country has shortened the registration process to a few days or digitized the filing system. Those are important steps but they only scratch the surface. Ease of doing business is about what happens after the registration is complete. It is about whether a business can actually thrive without unnecessary barriers. It is about the tax environment, the fairness of obligations placed on entrepreneurs, the predictability of the regulatory landscape and the ability to comply without being dragged into endless cycles of approvals and inspections.
A country that takes ease of doing business seriously must look at the wider ecosystem. Tax breaks must be available where they can spur growth. The tax regime must be fair, certain and predictable. Compliance with environmental and emissions standards must be clear and facilitated in a way that businesses can meet their obligations without being trapped in red tape. Approvals from specialized institutions must not take months or years to process because when that happens investors lose money, jobs are lost and opportunities vanish before they mature.
One of the most frustrating realities for entrepreneurs in Kenya and across Africa is that critical certifications or standardisation approvals drag on endlessly. It is common for businesses to be held back not because they lack innovation or capital but because paperwork has not moved from one desk to another. These delays are not just inconveniences, they are structural barriers that kill competitiveness.
What Kenya needs is a new approach. Compliance should be treated as a managed service, not as a heavy burden demanded upfront. Businesses should be allowed to open, operate and scale, while regulatory certifications follow in an organised, structured and time bound way. This model would support innovation and investment while ensuring that compliance is met in a predictable and efficient manner.
There is also an urgent need for a coordinated interagency team that brings regulators together to act as facilitators of business rather than as gatekeepers. Such a team would monitor processes, remove unnecessary duplication, and ensure that no business is trapped because of unmeasured or discretionary objections. Too often objections raised are not about protecting the public interest but about creating roadblocks for rent seeking. This culture must be dismantled if Kenya is to move forward.
As a leading digital hub, Kenya must seize the opportunity to lead the region with a new definition of ease of doing business. Our leadership should not be measured only in how fast one can register a company online but in how easy it is to sustain and grow that business in the years that follow. Investors want certainty. Entrepreneurs want facilitation. Employees want the assurance that the enterprises they work for can scale without being strangled by bureaucracy.
A country that truly embraces ease of doing business is a country that supports its entrepreneurs at every stage. It is a country that makes growth possible and sustainable. It is a country that values enterprise not as a threat to control but as a partner in national development. Kenya has the chance to become that country.
