Foreigners running small businesses in Kenya will face a government crackdown from Monday, September 7, after President William Ruto ordered their removal from small-scale trade.
Ruto said activities such as hawking and running small retail shops should be left to Kenyans, arguing that foreigners should not be coming into the country to compete with citizens in such businesses. The President issued the directive on Wednesday, September 2, while addressing Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise (MSME) traders at State House, Nairobi. “From next week, all traders doing those small businesses should close them,” Ruto said. He said the government had been working to improve the country's economic conditions and attract investors, but maintained that this should not open the door for foreigners to enter small-scale businesses. “We have made efforts to improve the economy...We have not improved investor confidence for hawkers to come to Kenya,” Ruto told the traders. The President's announcement comes as the government moves to put in place laws that would define areas of business reserved for Kenyan citizens. Ruto wants the Local Content Bill, 2025, sponsored by Laikipia Woman Representative Jane Kagiri, to move through Parliament faster. He said National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah and Trade Cabinet Secretary Lee Kinyanjui would work on further changes to the proposed law. The proposed legislation is among measures being considered alongside amendments to the Public Procurement Act. The two measures seek to limit foreign control in some areas, require local employment and prevent foreign companies from taking part in selected sectors. Ruto said the Local Content Bill would provide a legal basis for determining which businesses foreigners would not be permitted to operate. “We have a Bill in Parliament on Trade. In that Bill (Local Content Bill, 2025), we have proposed that there should be businesses that foreigners should not do here in Kenya, by law,” he said. He specifically pointed to hawking and small retail businesses as activities that should be protected for Kenyan citizens. “It cannot be that a person comes from China or elsewhere to be a hawker or open a small shop,” Ruto stated.