Section 157.4 of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act stipulates that reservations and preferences shall be applied to candidates belonging to disadvantaged groups, micro, small and medium enterprises, identified regions, and other categories as may be prescribed.

It is reported that foreign firms have had very limited success bidding on Kenyan Government tenders. There are widespread reports that corruption often influences the outcome of public tenders, and many of these tenders are challenged in the courts. Foreign firms, some without proven track records, have won government contracts when partnered with well-connected Kenyan firms or individuals. As of January 2019, all tenders and procurements are required to be undertaken through the Kenyan Government’s electronic procurement system, the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS). Certain foreign companies have expressed concerns about IFMIS due to insufficient connectivity and technical capacity in county government offices, apathy from county government officials, central control shutdowns, and security gaps that render the system vulnerable to manipulation and hacking.

Section 4.3 (Skills and Innovation) of the National ICT Policy Guidelines 2020 establishes that skills transfer to local firms and personnel is a mandatory requirement to win public tenders.

Kenya is not a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) nor does it have observer status.

Paragraph 6.2.4 of the National Information Communication and Technology Policy Guidelines of 2020 mandated that a company must have at least 30% substantive Kenyan ownership to be licensed by the Communication Authority to provide ICT services in Kenya. This requirement applied until August 2023 when, through Gazette Notice 11079 dated 22 August 2023, the Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Information, Communications, and the Digital Economy formally announced the deletion of the paragraph. According to Section 2 of the Kenya Information and Communications Act, information and communication technologies encompass the technologies used in collecting, storing, using, or transmitting information, including those involving computers or any telecommunication system. This definition includes ICT, telecommunication, and audiovisual services. Previously, this ownership requirement was 20% for telecommunications licensees.

According to Art. 34.2 of the Industrial Property Act of 2001, an applicant whose ordinary residence or principal place of business is outside Kenya is obliged to be represented by an agent who shall be a citizen of Kenya admitted to practice before the Kenya Industrial Property Institute.

Kenya is not a signatory of the 1996 World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) nor the 2015 expansion (ITA II).

According to Section 157.8 of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, exclusive preferences are given to citizens of Kenya where the funding is 100% from the national government, county government or a Kenyan body, and the amounts are below the prescribed threshold. The prescribed threshold for exclusive preference should be above five hundred million shillings (approx. USD 3,600,000)

The Law on Protection of Consumer Rights provides a comprehensive framework for consumer protection that also applies to online transactions. Art. 33 of the Law on Protection of Consumer Rights includes provisions for the protection of e-consumers. Additionally, e-consumers enjoy all other privileges of the normal consumers.

Kazakhstan has not signed the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts.

Kazakhstan has not adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Commerce.

Kazakhstan has not adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Signatures.

According to Art. 16 of the Law on Communication, technical means of communication used in the telecommunications network of the Republic of Kazakhstan are subject to a procedure of mandatory conformity acknowledgement by the authorities. The equipment has to be submitted to certification bodies recognised (or approved) by the regulator for certification.

In accordance with subparagraph 4-1 of Art. 7 of Law No. 544, the Minister of National Economy of Kazakhstan ordered the approval of the Rules of Domestic Trade (Order No. 264). Arts. 105-1 and 106-1 of the Rules mandate e-commerce sellers to indicate their BIN (business identification number), address of business operations on the territory of Kazakhstan and mobile telephone number registered in Kazakhstan in order to operate in the country. Additional information on this requirement is found in Annex 3-10 of Order No. 4.