Starting a business in Kenya ....Step 4!

Follow on from Step 3 (Last week)

Location, Location, Location!

Choose a location for your business.  A majority of businesses in Kenya are in urban areas. This might be a prime location and thus a premium rent would be needed to secure such a space. As a business start-up being realistic on what costs to incur would indicate that a cheaper location would be more appropriate. For a non service business e.g. manufacture of furniture, doesn’t need to be in an urban area. However, having a shop front in Urban area might be advisable due to human traffic and purchasing power of city dwellers.

Rural areas do present opportunities for cheaper labour, rent and overheads such as water and power. However, there would be an added cost of transportation and security. For a shop front however, a location with high foot traffic would be more appealing. You can share a shop front or boutique with another business start up with complimentary business and hopefully not competing. For instance if you are a shoe seller you could partner with a cloth seller as the two go hand in hand. Be careful in choosing your partners in business and don’t give away your secrets even though they may seem friendly.

Note you dont need to start with the best location in town to make it in business, there are many businesses which started in back alley and have made it to the top of the chain. Consider the cost element and your capital to make this decision.