Employment in Kenya is downright terrible. Completely depending on your salary is quite risky. Further, if you just graduated from college, seeking a job will leave your heart broken. We have therefore handpicked the most lucrative small business gigs and ideas in Kenya you should jump into depending on your financial capabilities.
1) Open a Liquor store
Liquor stores are a necessary evil, as some would put it. Kenyans love entertainment and part of the fun is through products sold in a liquor store.
This business has a potentially stable future as long as you adhere to the tight rules and regulations set by the government against any alcohol vending business.
A good liquor store requires an average of KES200,000-KES300,000 or more to cater for licenses, inventory, and rent for the first three months after starting the business.
Setting up your wines and spirits shop in a good location is paramount. You don’t want to open your business next to a school or a religious building (church/mosque).
Your customers should feel comfortable walking into your store and picking whatever liquor they desire. In about six months, you will have a stable cash flow.
2) Start a play station business
Play station lounges are lucrative near colleges where students will spend most of their free time.
A good lounge with three play stations coupled with a series selling business will yield an average of KES2,500 per day. This amount will, however, be influenced by competition and the number of clients you get per day.
To properly understand how a gaming lounge works, you must visit one and talk to the owner. Understand the risks of the business. For instance, gaming lounges often get robbed because the gadgets therein are expensive.
To succeed in this business niche, you have to beat the competition. You also have to be unique to attract and maintain customers.
3) Cleaning service
Corporate businesses prefer cleaning services as compared to hiring permanent workers. This could be your chance for a stable monthly income.
The perks of this business are that it requires minimal capital for startup and a good marketing strategy to get the word about you out there.
If you offer exceptional services to one client, the client may market you by word of mouth, recommending you for the next job.
4) Become an uber driver
Being an uber or bolt taxi driver is a highly profitable business idea for 2023. Do you have a car that isn’t bringing back any revenue? Using this car as an uber or bolt taxi could solve your financial problems.
Read this to understand how to register to become an uber driver in Kenya.
5) Meal preparation and delivery
Starting a meal preparation and delivery service is proving to be lucrative for 2023. To make a reasonable profit, you should couple this with a restaurant so that you always have food ready on order.
Meals like this sell during lunch as many people are aware from home but still require food to keep them afoot for the rest of the day.
Maintain hygiene while you prepare these meals. You don’t want to kill your business by spreading typhoid, amoeba, etc.
6) Dropshipping
Drop-shipping is supplying products to clients without owning any inventory. This business niche started in the country a few years ago.
It involves marketing yourself as a product seller. Clients will contact you for a specific product in your catalogue and since you don’t have any inventory, you will make an exact order on a manufacturing company’s website. The company will then supply the product directly to the client’s address.
You earn profits by simply charging more than what you’ll pay the manufacturer. You can drop ship products from Amazon, Alibaba, Ali Express, etc.
Success in this niche depends on how well you market yourself.
7) Drop servicing
This is the new but less hectic alternative to drop shopping. It involves brokering services. All you need is to find potential clients who will give you a task and then you will look for someone else to do the job for you at a lower price compared to what you charged your client.
Fiverr is a good place to start. Clients you meet will ask for services which you will then post on Fiverr. This platform has thousands of creative individuals ready for hire.
Keeping consistency will earn you a lot of money. In a few months, you will be financially stable.
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8) Become a Graphics designer
Graphics design is relatively easy. All you need is a laptop and YouTube to teach yourself how to design. In less than two weeks, you will have made a poster or banner.
The perks of graphics design are that once you have built your brand, large companies will approach you to make their designs. These companies pay extremely well.
Forex traders are good client sources. Many forex traders are usually lost in the thrill of money and are willing to pay up to KES4,000 for designs that would otherwise yield KES500 from regular clientele.
What do you need to be a graphics designer?
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe Photoshop
- Adobe XD
- Adobe InDesign
- Laptop (Corei5 and higher)
Read here: HP ProBook 430 G3 Laptop Review
9) Start a beauty parlour
Women should be attractive. What better way to look attractive than beautifying nails and hair? Opening a manicure and pedicure lounge may spell out financial success for you.
In Nairobi, doing nails costs between KES500 and KES2,500. Having 3-5 clients per day will yield a gross income of about KES10,000 and a net income of between KES3,000 to KES4,000.
Having a hair salon and a barber shop in the same place is also referred to as killing three birds with one stone.
10) Tutoring
Tutelage is still among the best-paying jobs. Despite the high pay, one needs a wealth of information to be able to tutor effectively.
In Kenya, many parents are looking for tutors to help their kids improve in their high school academics. This is a potential market gap to get into.
Outside Kenya, there are online tutorship programs linking students and tutors for e Study-pool, etc.
11) Electronic spare parts
Despite the competition, having an electronics shop is very profitable. Gadgets get damaged daily and users look for spare parts that are sometimes hard to get. Having a shop that solves this problem means you will attract income to your pocket in less than three months from startup.
Fast-selling parts include smartphone parts which go at incredibly competitive prices. Providing genuine parts to customers will see you to your success. Good communication with your suppliers and manufacturing companies is also key to ensuring the spare parts are delivered on time.
12) Hardware store
Everyone wants a home and hardware complements construction. If managed well, this business yields a lot of profit.
The startup, however, requires a high capital input. Despite this, the business picks up quite fast if you get connected to the right contractors and people looking to build their family homes, you will make a profit as soon as you start selling.
13) Freelance writing
Freelance/academic writing is a tough nut to crack. You have to pass examinations set by freelance companies online.
You will have to work hard to get approved for these jobs. However, once approved, you will have too many tasks to a point of delegating the jobs. This is a lucrative niche if you love writing.
Instead of sitting for an exam, you may choose to buy a freelance account at about KES20,000. In this situation, note the following;
- Be wary of fraudsters masquerading as account sellers.
- Low-quality submissions in an account that was previously submitting high-quality work will result in the termination of your account.
- According to freelance policies, buying an account is illegal. If they detect a change in IP address, you may get banned.
14) Blogging
Being a blogger is profitable but requires more than just being motivated. You need to be disciplined, and emotionless. This blogging business may take more than one year before you make any reasonable income.
Despite this, bloggers who stick to the business earn between €200-800 per month. All you need to do is set up your blog via WordPress, pay for hosting, and buy a good domain name. More details are here.
15) Personal training and fitness instructors
With more people looking forward to getting in shape for 2023, the year looks promising for anyone willing to jump into being a trainer or fitness instructor.
You may choose to open a gym or train clients one on one. This niche is extremely lucrative.
However, you can’t preach water and take wine. Before you start training clients, you have to make sure that your body is n shape. No client looking to lose weight will allow you to coach them if you are unfit.
Wrapping Up
Apart from having a small business, ensure you employ good marketing strategies. Ensuring your online presence will expand your clientele and this will translate to more income.
