THE STANDARD
BUSINESS NEWS
BRS Director General Kenneth Gathuma
NAIROBI, KENYA: Businesses registered in 2020 rose by 40 per cent on the back of Kenyans’ search for alternative income streams owing to Covid-19 economic shocks.
Data from the Business Registration Service (BRS) shows that 144,502 business entities were registered last year, an increase of 41,080 from 103,422 in 2019 as more people moved to formalise their enterprises.
Over 1.7 million workers are estimated to have lost their jobs owing to the pandemic, with the economy shrinking 1.5 per cent in 2020.
BRS noted that the current restriction measures by government to curb the virus have deepened the woes faced by small and micro businesses, forcing some to close.