The board of directors of the Special Economic Zones Authority (SEZA) has applauded the efforts by Tatu City to set up Kenya’s first ever One-Stop Shop facility. The facility intends to coordinate the activities of various government entities and private service providers for applications for permits, approvals, and licenses within the Tatu City Special Economic Zone.
The board, led by Dr. Meshack Kimeu, SEZA’s Acting CEO, commended Tatu City as the country’s first operational SEZ, responsible for creating more than Ksh. 130 billion of local, regional and international investment in Kenya. Tatu City SEZ is currently home to more than 60 businesses, thousands of homes and two schools, the Crawford International and Nova Pioneer. The private sector SEZ pioneer in Kenya, Tatu City recently partnered with Konza Technopolis, a public SEZ, to establish the Association of Special Economic Zones of Kenya, which aims to further economic zone development and operationalization.
“The Tatu City One-Stop Shop is intended to be a primary way in which the SEZs benefit both the nation and businesses by complementing tax incentives, thus improving the ease of doing business. As a result, one-stop shops are critical to the main value an SEZ offers from a public policy perspective – they are opportunities for innovation in governance,” said Dr. Kimeu.
Established in 2015 by an Act of Parliament, SEZA’s mandate is to provide for the establishment of SEZs in Kenya, to promote and facilitate business for global and local investors and to create an enabling environment for investments in the country. Kenya’s special economic zones offer registered companies 10% corporate tax for 10 years, import duty exemptions and zero-rated VAT, among other business friendly benefits.