Deciding to move to a new city to launch or scale a start-up is never easy. The risks associated with such a move are always great, and one might not be sure whether the experience will be worthwhile or not.
If you are looking to move to Africa but aren’t sure where to land, Nairobi is the perfect place. The “City in the Sun” is popular with investors and start-ups from all over the world, including the US, UK, and Ukraine.
Nairobi provides huge potential for any start-up due to eased business restrictions and a favorable start-up climate. Aside from business, however, Nairobi is a cosmopolitan and fun city that you can ease into regardless of where you come from.
Take a trip to the beautiful city of Nairobi and explore its wonders for yourself. You can free up more time to do this by hiring professional essay writing services to complete your assignments for you. Here are 7 reasons why you should choose Nairobi for your start-up.
1. Nairobi Has a High Tech Culture
Nairobi has a culture of robust tech innovation and an ecosystem favorable for start-ups, especially those in tech to launch and scale. There are a variety of business incubators and start-up accelerators such as Gearbox, NaiLab, iHub, and mLab. These provide start-ups with mentorship, co-working spaces, training, and access to capital and investments. The advanced tech culture has led Nairobi to be dubbed the “Silicon Savannah.”
Being the capital city of Kenya means that Nairobi has an advanced ICT network infrastructure with high-speed broadband and fiber-optic connection. There is also a huge market that provides a ready customer base to uptake your product.
2. High-Value Professionals at Reduced Costs
You can’t mention the tech culture in Nairobi without mentioning the professionals who drive this culture. Nairobi has highly learned professionals in all economic areas, with the tech industry finding grounding and taking off in the early 2010s. Regardless of your area of operation, you will find a highly educated population capable of supplying any potential workforce demands that you may have. The salary for a competent professional in Nairobi will be a fraction of what it would be in places like the EU and Australia.
3. Nairobi Has Exclusive Economic Zones with Tax Rebates
The Kenyan government incentivizes foreign start-ups to set up in the country and markets Nairobi as a private capital destination. Smart city initiatives such as Konza Technopolis and Tatu City are earmarked as areas providing superior ICT and infrastructure and business-friendly policies. Besides this, setting up as a foreign company would earn such companies tax rebates as incentives to continue operating in the country.
4. Nairobi Has a Great Venture Capital Culture
All start-ups need funding and other non-financial investments. The Kenyan start-up ecosystem is based almost entirely in Nairobi, providing access to grants, seed money, pre-seed, debt, and equity investments. Active players in the VC space include Y Combinator, GreenTec Capital Partners, the Mastercard Foundation, and Kuria Capital.
Besides that, there are numerous multinationals locally hosted in Nairobi, with interests ranging from the automotive, healthcare, education, insurance, and finance industry.
5. Nairobi Has a Very Active Expat Community
As a start-up founder or freelancer just thinking about setting up a shop in Nairobi, you might want a similar group of people that you can share ideas with. This doesn’t just pertain to work. Having an active social life is a key recipe for creativity, especially when you are miles away from home.
Nairobi gives you that perfect blend of home-away-from-home and true ex-pat living. The experiences won’t feel guarded and unconnected since you will be free to mingle with the locals and other ex-pats in select areas depending on your preferences. Besides, Nairobi is generally regarded as safe, with crime limited to specific areas of the city.
6. Nairobi Has Great Infrastructural Connectivity to the Rest of the Country
Ease of transport and a generally good infrastructure comprised of airports, roads, and rail are all key features in attracting investors to any kind of city. Nairobi is located centrally in the Kenyan heartland and is within minutes or hours of all other major East African cities by road or air.
The roads within the city are excellent, especially in areas preferred by expats. Save for traffic during rush hours; getting to and out of the city into residential areas is only a matter of minutes. The government has introduced new measures to curb traffic, such as expanding roads, building expressways, and introducing trams and routed buses that decongest the roads.
7. Life in Nairobi Is Quite Affordable
Whether you prefer to live in a hotel or Airbnb or choose to rent or lease out a home, Nairobi has a wide variety to cater to different budgets. There are also no stringent restrictions on foreigners coming to rent or lease in Nairobi.
Renting out office space won’t set your budgets back by a mile, and different areas are available are depending on the desired exclusivity with different budgets.
Finally, Nairobi Isn’t All about Work
As a start-up founder or employee, you probably want to kick back and put your legs up after a long a stressful week. Nairobi has tons of great places that you could explore for a relaxed weekend, an active night scene, and gastronomic culture to rival some of the best places in Africa.
