HomeBoyz Entertainment will soon have public shareholding as it has announced plans to list at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) before the end of the year.
Speaking at the official launch of the Building Bridges Initiative in Nairobi. HomeBoyz CEO narrated how the company started off when he sold cassettes and said it was time to list it publicly so that many young people can become part of it.
“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.
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 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.
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.
HomeBoyz 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 East and Central Africa.
It now employs over 200 people whose livelihoods depend on the growth of the entertainment industry.
In 2016 HomeBoyz Entertainment Limited has sold about 40 per cent of its business to a top French company for Sh200 million.
It is still not known whether the company that owns Homeboyz Radio and is heavily invested in events in the region sold part of its lucrative events arm, Homeboyz Radio, or the group.
