Africa is home to 11 of the 20 fastest growing economies globally and offers boundless opportunities for inbound investment, business expansion and other commercial activities at a time more mature world markets are under strain. Establishing operations on the African continent as part of an international corporation’s expansion strategy entails complex licensing and staffing decisions that need to ensure compliance with local legal and regulatory requirements.
The Firm’s lawyers have worked with governments, state-owned corporations and MNCs in all stages of transactions, ranging from transaction origination, due diligence, document negotiation to closing. For clients seeking to set up operations on the Continent, we work closely with your team to identify the most strategic location to set up including due diligence on site location, advice on special economic zones and other zones that present fiscal incentives for your particular business and sector.
The Firm guides clients on statutory and advisory board structures and prepares board constitutive documents including Directors’ code of conduct, terms of reference for various board committees, Board Charter and Stakeholder Engagement Guidelines to ensure the effectiveness of our client’s corporate governance structures.
Our services include support in registrations with government agencies and securing necessary licenses and permits, structuring of executive remuneration packages, preparation of Employment Contracts, Secondment Agreements as well as with their applications for the correct category of pass or permit for our clients’ key personnel and dependents, where applicable.
Recent assignments have included advising on market entry strategies, local incorporations and registration with KenInvest for US, European and Asian corporations, group restructurings, mergers and acquisitions and disposals for clients in the manufacturing, energy, financial services, defence, agricultural and ICT sectors. We have advised on and negotiated joint venture agreements for clients in the real estate, technology and energy sectors.
The Firm has advised on establishment of SEZ enterprises proposed to be set up in Kenya and Rwanda. We have undertaken pre-investment due diligence investigations for a South African pension fund and various US-based private equity, impact and venture capital funds seeking to invest in various entities or smaller catalytic funds for on-lending to small and medium enterprises operating in the African market.
The Firm encourages its clients to be responsible corporate citizens and authored the first Kenyan Chapter of the 2023 Edition of Chambers & Partners Global Practice Guide on Environment Social Governance (ESG) Trends and Developments which included an analysis of the legal and regulatory framework in over 20 jurisdictions globally.