The Export Processing Zone (EPZ) program in Kenya was established in 1990 with the enactment of the Export Processing Zone Act (CAP 517, Laws of Kenya). The program, managed by the Export Processing Zones Authority (EPZA), promotes export oriented industrial investment within designated zones. It offers a range of attractive fiscal, physical and procedural incentives to ensure lower cost operations, faster set up and smoother operations. The EPZ program aims at:
All licensed EPZ companies, enjoy the following incentives, as established by the EPZ Act;
This is a programme whose aim is to nurture SME exporters with majority local Kenyan shareholding desiring to set up under the EPZ programme.
The programme targets SMEs from the following sectors:
The following are the incentives currently accessed by EPZ SMEs:
SMEs desiring to set up under the programme are selected using the following selection criteria:
The EPZ Authority issues 3 main types of licenses or permits. They are as follows: