Kenyan president orders closure of foreign-run small shops

Kenya's President William Ruto has ordered the closure of small retail shops owned by foreigners in the country.

On Wednesday, Mr Ruto told the Ministry of Investments, Trade and Industry to start enforcement against foreigners involved in local trading and hawking from next Monday.

The president explained the order is meant to protect local Kenyan traders and ensure that businesses meant for citizens are not hurt by unfair competition.

There is a bill in the Kenyan parliament that aims to limit foreign involvement in certain small businesses. The Local Content Bill, introduced in 2025, wants to boost Kenyan participation in economic activities and open up more chances for local businesses and citizens.

The bill also suggests sourcing at least 60 percent of goods, services, and supplies locally when they meet the required standards.

But Mr Ruto stated that the government would not wait for parliament to pass this bill before taking action on the matter.

"All those traders and hawkers doing these small businesses should close down," Mr Ruto said. He added, "From next week, all traders doing those small businesses should close them."

The president mentioned that the aim is to bring in large-scale foreign investments while protecting small business owners, especially those at the bottom of the economic ladder.

"We have made efforts to improve the economy; we have not improved investor confidence for hawkers to come to Kenya."

"We have not built investor confidence so that hawkers can come to Kenya," Mr Ruto said, according to local media.

"The investor confidence we have built is for investors to come to Kenya, not hawkers and traders. People should not confuse us," he added.

Kenya is now part of a growing list of African countries that are restricting foreign nationals from running small businesses meant for citizens. Other countries include Tanzania, Botswana, and Ghana.

These restrictions focus on low-capital businesses like petty retail, mobile money services, salons, and small manufacturing.