Court allows Dutch firm to pursue its debtor in Kenya

At the heart of the dispute was whether a foreign company that is not registered in Kenya is barred from accessing Kenyan courts and whether extending a cross-border loan to a Kenyan company amounts to "carrying on business in Kenya" within the meaning of the Companies Act.

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The Court of Appeal has allowed a Dutch firm to pursue a debtor in Kenya, overturning an earlier decision by a lower court which blocked it from doing so, because it wasn’t locally registered under the Companies Act.

The appellate court reinstated a debt recovery suit by Stichting Rabobank Foundation against AVA Chem Limited—reinforcing a ruling by a High Court in 2025 that foreign companies incorporated abroad can sue and enforce contracts in Kenyan courts without local registration under the Companies Act.

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Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.