HomeBoyz entertainment to list at NSE before 2021

HomeBoyz Entertainment Founder Myke Rabar speaking at the launch of BBI Report

NAIROBI, KENYA: HomeBoyz entertainment has announced plans to list at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) before the end of the year.

The company was formed in 1992 as a small DJ agency catering for weddings and house parties and has today grown to be the biggest and most influential entertainment company in the region.

It now employs over 200 people whose livelihoods depend on the growth of the entertainment industry.

“It has not been easy building and sustaining the business under the current environment, especially being in the informal sector. However, with perseverance, we have soldiered on into existence under the current circumstances” its founder Myke Rabar said on Monday in Nairobi.

“Listing at the NSE will be a milestone and the first to a business like ours in the informal sector,” he said.

He spoke at the official launch of the Building Bridges Initiative in Nairobi attended by President Uhuru Kenyatta, Deputy President William Ruto, and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga among other leaders.

In his speech, he hailed the document as pro-small businesses that will address regular hurdles youth encounter in setting up enterprises.

According to proposals in the document, youthful entrepreneurs will be exempted from paying taxes for seven years from the moment they register their businesses.

The report says such a proposal was necessary to safeguard the entrepreneurial spirit of youth in the country.

“The Bill seeks to amend the Micro and Small Enterprises Act, 2012 to give youth-owned enterprises a seven-year tax break, and to establish business incubation centers across the country to provide business advisory services, which include access to capital and government contracts," the report reads in part.

Youthful entrepreneurs will be exempted from paying taxes for seven years from the moment they register their businesses.

According to the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report released yesterday, such a proposal was necessary to safeguard the entrepreneurial spirit of youth in the country.

“The Bill seeks to amend the Micro and Small Enterprises Act, 2012 to give youth-owned enterprises a seven-year tax break, and to establish business incubation centres across the country to provide business advisory services, which include access to capital and government contracts," the report reads in part.

Presumptive tax

Last year, KRA issued a directive targeting small businesses with a presumptive tax which would be included in their renewable trading licence.

The Micro and Small Enterprises Act of 2012 defines micro-enterprises as those with an annual turnover of less than Sh500,000. Small enterprises are those with a turnover of between Sh500,000 and Sh5 million.

To enjoy the tax incentive, youth will be required to register their ventures with the office of the registrar of micro and small enterprises.

According to data from Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, Kenya’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) contributed approximately 40 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product in 2018 with the majority falling in the informal sector.