Cheap imports, high costs: Why many businesses are closing shop

Eveready closed its battery factory in 2014. FILE | NATION | NATION MEDIA GROUP. 

By BRIAN NGUGI

In Summary

• About 2.2 million small enterprises have closed shop over the last five years, underlining the tough challenges that the local business climate poses for investors.
• The highest number of establishments shut down was in 2015, accounting for 35.4 per cent of the total number of closed enterprises in the last five years.
• About 1.2 million were closed in rural areas compared to one million in urban areas.