I am planing on moving to Kenya- need info :)

Hi Regitze,
It is very simple to start that place for kids, but it will depend on the kind of activities you will be engaged in. My advice is that if you find this difficult, you can use someone from here (trustworthy)  who can help you in the whole process.
John

Hi,
Thats a very good idea.
I have worked with kids for 3years and a place for activities after school will be fun.
Getting goverment approval is not hard, i know a registrar who can help. The local people here are very friendly and welcoming. If any questions you can contact me.

Ann.

Its not difficult. once you secure space which is available,its going to be a big and profitable investment. infact a childrens place in nairobi is hot cake. Link with us for more information.

Yes  sure everything can be done. But most important is for you to identify which areas you have difficulty in then i can guide you in what i can. My dad specifically specializes on Early childhood education so you can have an insight on psychology of Kenyan kids and what matters to them after school and so on. stuff like that.
Regards,
Linet

How are you? The idea of starting a place for the kids is great. I have worked on this field for 13yrs as a nanny and assistance teacher with Waldorf school Nairobi. You shouldn't have any problems with the process as long as you use the right channels. You can contact me via email [email protected] if you need someone to help you get started,all the best.
susan

Hi Regidze,

I am a Kenyan Citizen who has been in the business of schools and after school programmes. It is a viable project that with good strategy can pick up and do very well. The certification process is not too complicated.
Feel free to get in touch for more details.
Fred

I have been running  kindergarten for a long a time. I welcome your idea. From which country are you?
My email is [email protected]

Hello,

Greetings, If you wish to do business in Kenya, make it an initiative to visit Kenya and share with some of the local businesses. In Kenya, there is no actual data that entails industry performance or market share. It is thus critical that you use our local mechanism to learn and know facts of any given sector of interest. Here, it is very common to use existing businesses as an SI unit when planning for your businesses.

The local market is open to great ideas and things that will make their lives better and merry. And in your line of business, i would suggest you look at upmarket neighborhoods where the clients are quite easily convinced since they are always busy and have little time to spend with their children. Wishing you well.

Hi Regitz,

First, welcome to the forum. Second, welcome to Kenya. I think your,s is a good initiatize and can wok well.

1) Registration
The department of children,s services in the ministry of labour, social security and services is responsible for inspecting and give approval for institutions where children are hosted. That should be amongst one of your first stops (ofcourse after you sought out all the issues of work permit and residence and all).

2) Location , Location location.
Having lived in Several places in Europe and Having worked at "Robbie's Place" an afterschool and day care organization in Netherlands, I kind of have an idea of what you have in mind. If it is so, then maybe what you want to do is get a location in/near the areas where epatriates live and or take their children to school. This is bound to be more strategic than just setting up anywhere. this is because the education system in Kenya is quite different from the european one. In most kenyan schools following kenyan curriculum you will find that school goes from 0800 hours in the morning to 1700hrs in the evening (for classes) to this you need to add an hour or two for commute hence there is really no time nor is it practical for students in kenyan curriculum schools to be attending after schools (they wouldnt even have the time for that even).

3) Staff
I may catch some heat for this but yes, unfortunately, in Kenya, we (citizens) are all "qualified" for all jobs. That is to say, most people do the "work" they get to survive not necessesarily because they have the qualifications and or experience in the particular area. The fact that the government does not "stringently regulate" some of these professions does not help. You may find an abuser on your hands so you really have to be keen in this area. Based on the type and quality of clientele you are looking to draw, you want to go for professionals. people trained in the areas of social work, social development, ECDE etc.

3) Start up/Capital
One - space in Kenya isn't as hard to find as in europe.so that wont be hard. Staff/ labour is "cheap" as compared to europe (minimum wage is really minimal). Basically its easy to start up a succesful business in kenya (so long as you have your strategy right).

Its a good idea. Go for it. do ti the right way and you will be happy all the way.

All the best!

Hello,that is a very good idea,in my local area we need schools,is it a community school or a private that you intend to set up,ok i believe i can help,thnx.

Am available to help. My email is [email protected]

Yes Iam available and has the experience needed. My email [email protected]

Hi Regitze,

Your business idea is a good one.  The school our granddaughter attends has after school clubs for which the school brings in some self employed people.  There are quite a lot of nurseries etc in Nairobi already, so it might be a good idea to visit and do a bit of research, so you can offer something that the others do not.

I assume that you are hoping to be self employed. As touched on in the long post (above), to do things legally, you will need to sort out things like; set up and registration of a company and obtaining a work permit.  For this process you will need quite a lot of capital (min $100,000) in liquid cash or Kenyan investments.  The person posting above is correct in so far as the cost of premises and staff is low compared with Europe.  The capital referred to above is the amount set by the government as a condition of obtaining a work permit.  The cost of the permit is Ksh 100,000 per year (generally renewable on a 2 yearly cycle) plus Ksh 10,000 admin fee.  I understand that the permit is paid for when issued, not on application.

Another way of going about it is to get a local business partner.  In that way, your business can operate, though you would be not permitted to 'work'.  As registration of a company can be done before you apply for a work permit, you may be tempted to work illegally.  Some do, but 'whistleblowing' is positively encouraged by the government.  Personally, I would not do this.

Unfortunately, the Kenyan Government don't make it very easy, which appears to be a deliberate move to tackle high local unemployment.

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Its not difficult to get a place to start a charity work here in Kenya, what i can advise you to do is that once you have identified the kids your working permit will be approved and again don't just send somebody to look for you the working permit go by yourself. Thank you