A managed path from finding a business to owning it.
Mwisho gives buyers and sellers a structured, confidential route through the whole transaction. We help sellers prepare their businesses, check who buyers are, protect confidential information, coordinate the deal and support both sides through closing and handover.
Mwisho facilitates transactions but does not provide legal, tax, investment or financial advice. Buyers and sellers should appoint their own qualified advisers before completing a transaction.
For buyers
- 1
Find a business
Filter by category, county, price and monthly profit. Save what fits and compare your shortlist.
- 2
Check what we verified
Each listing shows the checks we completed before it went live, such as seller identity, registration, documents provided and site visit. Verified never means audited or guaranteed.
- 3
Verify who you are
Create a buyer profile and confirm your identity and contact details. For larger opportunities we may ask for proof of funds.
- 4
Agree to confidentiality
Accept our Confidentiality and Non-Use Agreement before private details are shared. Acceptance is recorded.
- 5
Ask questions and make an offer
Message the seller inside Mwisho and arrange a visit. The seller is notified that a verified buyer is interested. You can then submit a non binding offer with price, structure and conditions.
- 6
Do your own due diligence
We complete our own checks before a listing goes live, but the buyer's own review of books, taxes, licences, contracts, staff, assets and liabilities is still required. We organise the data room and give you the checklist.
- 7
Agree the final terms
You and the seller negotiate and sign the sale agreement, each with your own advisers. The commercial decision is yours.
- 8
Pay through independent escrow
For eligible deals, funds go into a client or escrow account run by an independent Kenyan law firm under a separate escrow agreement. Mwisho never holds the money.
- 9
Complete the handover
Work through a structured checklist: assets, keys, passwords, licences, suppliers, customers, staff and an agreed transition period.
For sellers
- 1
Tell us about your business
A confidential first application. Formal or informal records work: statements, M Pesa records, tax filings, permits, invoices, handwritten ledgers.
- 2
Get ready for sale
We help you organise what buyers will ask for, spot missing documents and prepare a confidential business profile.
- 3
Complete verification
We review your identity, that the business exists, ownership information and supporting documents, with a site visit where it applies. Badges only show checks actually done.
- 4
Go live on the marketplace
Your opportunity is published in a way that explains what the business does without giving away sensitive detail up front.
- 5
Receive qualified inquiries
We check who is asking, and every buyer must accept the confidentiality agreement before private access. You approve or decline each request.
- 6
Share information securely
Approved buyers get controlled access to a secure data room. You can grant or revoke access and see who viewed each document.
- 7
Compare and negotiate offers
We help structure and compare offers, coordinate meetings and track milestones. You choose the buyer and make the final call.
- 8
Support due diligence and legal work
We coordinate buyer information requests and help you prepare. Final agreements should be drawn or reviewed by an advocate you appoint.
- 9
Close through independent escrow
Once the agreement is signed, the buyer deposits funds with an independent law firm, which holds and releases them under the escrow agreement.
- 10
Transfer and hand over
We coordinate the closing and handover so ownership, records, access, suppliers and agreed transition support move across in order.
The work behind every deal.
Every transaction has a clear process, recorded milestones and defined responsibilities.
Clear, standard market rates.
Sellers pay one application and listing fee at submission, and a facilitation fee only when a deal actually closes. Buyers pay nothing to browse, make contact or make an offer. Escrow and legal fees are set by the independent law firm and the parties' own advisers.
At closing, the buyer's funds sit in an escrow account run by an independent Kenyan law firm. When the agreed completion conditions are met, the law firm releases the money to the seller, deducts its own escrow and legal fees, and pays Mwisho its facilitation fee exactly as set out in the escrow agreement signed by both sides during deliberations.
Due diligence, meaning books, site visits and legal review, always stays with the buyer. We complete our own checks before a listing goes live. You decide whether to buy.
Seller fees
- Application and listing feeKES 15,000
Paid at submission. Covers our verification review and getting the listing in front of qualified buyers. Fully refunded if the business is not approved.
- Facilitation fee on close8%
Standard market rate, paid by the seller only when the business is sold to a buyer introduced through Mwisho, with a KES 100,000 minimum. It is settled from the escrow account at release, alongside the law firm's escrow and legal fees, under the escrow agreement both parties sign.
Mwisho does not receive, hold or control the purchase price at any point.
Questions people ask
How do you buy an established business in Kenya?
You find an operating business with proof of trade, confirm its records yourself, agree a price and handover terms with the owner, then transfer the licence, premises lease, suppliers, staff and stock. On Mwisho, we complete our own checks before a listing goes live: we confirm the business exists, trades and can show at least one form of proof such as a KRA PIN, a single business permit, M Pesa or till statements, bank statements or handwritten ledgers.
How do you sell a business in Kenya when there is no successor?
Apply to be listed, pass verification, then meet checked buyers through the platform. Sellers pay a refundable KES 15,000 application fee and a facilitation fee on a successful close. Buyers pay nothing to browse or make contact.
Who holds the money at closing?
An independent Kenyan law firm does, in a designated client or escrow account under a separate escrow agreement signed by the buyer and seller. The law firm releases funds only when the written completion conditions are met, and settles escrow, legal and facilitation fees from that release. Mwisho never holds or controls the purchase price.
Who does the due diligence?
The buyer does. Mwisho verifies that the business is real, operating and represented accurately, and gives both sides a structured deal room, a checklist and coordination. Our verification is not an audit, valuation or guarantee, and it does not replace your own investigation.
What does a successful Kenyan business typically sell for?
Everyday retail and service businesses in Kenya usually trade on a multiple of monthly or annual owner profit rather than on revenue, with the premises lease, licences, stock and customer base counted separately. Mwisho prices every listing in KES and shows verified monthly profit so buyers can compare on the same basis.
What is the Kenya Top 500 index?
A published research list of 500 prominent Kenyan companies by industry, with revenue shown only where it is publicly attributable and sourced. It is for market understanding. None of those companies are listed for sale on Mwisho.
Signed in users get the full process guide, including the complete due diligence checklist and escrow steps, at Process and guidelines.