SoftLaw Limited

Preserving the history of Genius Executive Centre and SoftLaw Limited's contributions to Kenya's business landscape

Archive Notice: This website serves as a historical record. SoftLaw Limited and Genius Executive Centre are no longer active trading entities. Genius Executive Centre ceased operations in 2015.

🏢Company Overview

Business Name

SoftLaw Limited / Genius Executive Centre

Founders

Harrison Karanja (Co-founder) & Stephen Alala

Industry

Executive Office Solutions, Business Services & Financial Technology

Location

View Park Towers, Nairobi, Kenya

Founded

2003 (SoftLaw Limited), 2005 (Genius Executive Centre)

Status

Ceased Operations (2015)

Historical Context: Founded by Harrison Karanja and Stephen Alala in 2003, SoftLaw Limited became a pioneering force in Kenya's entrepreneurial ecosystem. The company operated multiple business divisions including Genius Executive Centre (office solutions), Genius Forex (online currency trading), and various technology services. SoftLaw was instrumental in digitizing Kenya's business registration process and supporting the country's emerging fintech sector during the early 2000s boom period.

📅Company Timeline

Late 2003
SoftLaw Limited Founded - "The Eureka Moment"
Law students Harrison Karanja and Stephen Alala had their breakthrough when they developed the first CD of Kenya's Laws. After laboriously scanning, transcribing and converting 50,000 pages of legal statutes over six months, they launched the digital version in late 2003 to recoup their investment and settle bills.
2004-2005
Expansion into Business Centers
After successfully marketing their legal software, the duo established Phoenix House cyber café operations and began developing the concept for professional business centers to address space challenges faced by young entrepreneurs and IT professionals.
2005
Genius Executive Centre Launch
Launch of Genius Executive Centre at View Park Towers, providing affordable office solutions at KSh 10,000 monthly rent. The center offered fully equipped offices with high-speed internet, computers, printers, boardrooms, reception services, and comprehensive business support to Kenya's emerging startup ecosystem.
2006
Magazine Features & Legal Recognition
Featured as cover story in The Lawyer magazine (December 2006) for "Law Online" and profiled in Financial Post as "Two young self-made millionaires." The company was becoming the "brain behind SoftLaw" with widespread media recognition for innovation in legal technology and business incubation.
2006-2007
Global Stock Guarantee Exchange (GSGE)
Launch of innovative Global Stock Guarantee Exchange, a revolutionary financial product allowing investors to hedge against stock market losses. GSGE offered stock guarantees with specific payout structures, operating under SoftLaw's parent company structure and pioneering new risk management tools for Kenyan investors.
August 2007
Business Daily Feature Story
Harrison Karanja featured in The Business Daily's innovation section in an article titled "Helping put entrepreneurs on their feet the 'Genius Executive' way" discussing the company's mission to support Kenya's entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Business Daily article (archived)
November 2007
24-Hour Office Service Launch
Introduction of extended hours service, offering 24-hour office access from 7:00 PM to 7:00 AM at KSh 4,500 per month, catering to flexible working needs and pioneering the concept in Kenya.
January 2008
Genius Heal Kenya Initiative
In response to post-election violence, Genius Executive Centre launched a humanitarian initiative in collaboration with the Kenya Red Cross Society, collecting food, clothing, and personal care products for affected communities.
March 2007
Barcamp Kenya Participation
Genius Executive Centre participated in Kenya's first Barcamp, an unconference of media and technology professionals, demonstrating early engagement with Kenya's tech community.
Original blog coverage (archived)
2010
Business Registration Platform
Launch of Kenya's first online company registration platform through SoftLaw, revolutionizing business incorporation processes and making it accessible via FormAKenyanCompany.com.
2008
Genius Forex Launch
Launch of Genius Forex division offering online foreign exchange trading services to Kenyan investors, pioneering fintech services in the region with partnerships with international brokers like CMS Forex and FXCM. The service managed nearly Sh818 million in client investments.
2013
Harrison Karanja's Millionaire Recognition
Harrison Karanja recognized in The Standard newspaper as achieving millionaire status at age 22, highlighting the success of SoftLaw's multiple business divisions and the entrepreneurial ecosystem they created. The article titled "Ingenuity that saw Karanja join millionaires club at 22" documented his journey from law student to successful tech entrepreneur.
2015
Exit from Co-working Space Industry
SoftLaw Limited exited the co-working space industry when it sold Genius Executive Centre operations. The founders transitioned focus to other business pursuits, marking the end of their pioneering role in Kenya's executive office solutions sector and conclusion of over a decade of innovation in business services.

⚙️Historical Services & Divisions

SoftLaw Limited operated multiple pioneering business divisions that transformed Kenya's business landscape:

SoftLaw Legal Technology

Digital conversion of Kenya's laws from 50,000 pages into searchable CD format, plus online legal resource platform at www.lawsofkenya.com

Genius Executive Centre

Professional office spaces at KSh 10,000/month with high-speed internet, computers, printers, boardrooms, reception services, and business support

Genius Forex Trading

Online foreign exchange platform serving 6,100+ clients, managing ~Sh818 million in investments with partnerships with CMS Forex and FXCM

FormAKenyanCompany.com

Kenya's first online business registration platform charging Sh4,000 for name registration, revolutionizing company incorporation processes

Global Stock Guarantee Exchange

Innovative financial product offering stock market insurance and risk management tools for investors through structured guarantee products

SoftLaw Transcription Services

Business process outsourcing including data transcription, audio transcription at Ksh 500 per hour, and 24-hour operations serving international clients

Genius Business Consultants

Business planning, sales and marketing strategies, legal document review, and startup advisory services for emerging entrepreneurs

Genius Capital & Consulting

Investment opportunities matching service connecting inventors with investors, plus business plan development and funding facilitation

Innovation Highlights: SoftLaw pioneered multiple firsts in Kenya - from digitizing legal statutes to creating the country's first online business registration platform. Their integrated business model combining legal technology, co-working spaces, fintech services, and BPO operations was unprecedented. The Genius Executive Centre became a model replicated across Nairobi's CBD, while their legal technology work laid foundations for Kenya's digital government services.

🌟Legacy & Impact

Entrepreneurial Legacy: Harrison Karanja and Stephen Alala's SoftLaw Limited was a pioneering force in Kenya's digital transformation. Starting as law students with a "brilliant idea" to digitize legal statutes, they built a diversified business empire that included Kenya's first online business registration platform, revolutionary co-working spaces, fintech services, and innovative financial products. Their work demonstrated how young entrepreneurs could leverage technology to solve complex business challenges across multiple sectors.

Legal Technology Pioneer

First to digitize Kenya's Laws from 50,000 pages into searchable format, creating foundation for modern legal research and government digitization initiatives

Co-working Space Innovator

Genius Executive Centre pioneered affordable professional office solutions at KSh 10,000/month, inspiring the growth of business centers across Nairobi's CBD

Fintech Trailblazer

Managed ~Sh818 million through Genius Forex serving 6,100+ clients, and created Global Stock Guarantee Exchange for innovative risk management

Business Registration Revolution

FormAKenyanCompany.com reduced incorporation from weeks to days, transforming how businesses were registered and contributing to Kenya's ease of doing business

Media Recognition: Featured extensively across multiple publications including The Lawyer magazine (cover story), Financial Post ("Two young self-made millionaires"), Business Daily (multiple features), The Standard, and MyBusiness magazine ("Creative Genius Duo"). Harrison Karanja was profiled as joining the "millionaires club at 22" while Stephen Alala was recognized as a venture capitalist and enterprise consultant.
Industry Transformation: SoftLaw's integrated business model combining legal technology, co-working spaces, fintech, and BPO services influenced Kenya's startup ecosystem development. Their success demonstrated the viability of technology-driven business solutions and inspired numerous competitors and imitators. The company's exit from co-working in 2013 marked the transition from pioneering phase to mainstream adoption of flexible office solutions in Kenya.
Personal Philosophy: Harrison Karanja's motto "Inaction is worse than failure. I would rather fail than not act on an idea" embodied the entrepreneurial spirit that drove SoftLaw's innovations. Their approach of identifying systemic problems - from legal research difficulties to office space shortages - and creating comprehensive technology-driven solutions became a model for Kenya's tech entrepreneur community.