What is a Business?
Business is the practice of making one’s living or making money by producing or buying and selling products. It is also “any activity or enterprise entered into for profit.
Best Business To Start In Kenya
Mitumba Camera Business
Second-hand clothes are popular in Kenya – with at least two million Kenyans working directly and indirectly in the sector. One of the unique characteristics of the Mitumba business is that there are low-entrance barriers – at least for the small traders who sell these products after they have been shipped to Kenya.
There is a unique market of middle-class Kenyans who prefer second-hand clothes because they can afford high-quality – and sometimes luxury brands – for a bargain.
However, these consumers are unwilling to make the early morning tour to Gikomba and search for these high-quality clothing products that traders scramble for every morning when the bales are brought to the market – mostly between 4 a.m. and 6:30 in the morning.
Tours and Travel
Domestic tourism has become a major part of Kenyan culture. Amid the growing market, there are numerous business opportunities for travel and tour operators.
Most companies in this industry work with hotels and airlines to organize tours in major tourism centers such as the Kenyan coast, the Aberdares, Mt Kenya, and Naivasha, among others.
However, Kenya is filled with numerous picturesque and excursion sites that have yet to gain prominence as mainstream tourist destinations. To penetrate this market, you only need great research skills in some of these areas and a smartphone camera with a great camera.
You can then identify fun travel activities or destinations and develop a package – you may require a budget for transport to identify if the place is suitable for a commercial travel group. Some areas are picturesque but are hostile to tourists or guests may be required to pay the local community some guide fees.
Agricultural Produce Brokerage
Agriculture has long been referred to as the backbone of the Kenyan economy. However, it also has some of the unhappiest stakeholders – primarily because of the gaps between the suppliers and the consumers.
At one time, I traveled to Kinangop, and farmers were loudly complaining that the price of cabbage had fallen to a mere Ksh4 per piece. Some of the farmers had opted not to sell their cabbage and instead feed it to their cows – and it’s not like the prices of milk were any better.
When I returned to my apartment in Roysambu, I was shocked to find the price was cabbage was Ksh40 per piece.
Home Massage Services
More Kenyans are turning to massage therapy to improve their mental and physical health. Spas are coming up in most residential areas, but numerous clients and families do not have the time to visit the spa. There is a niche for home-based massage services – which would basically allow you to run a spa without the high cost of physically setting up one.
You could either learn or train as a masseuse and provide the services yourself. You could also partner with a trained masseuse, use the Ksh10,000 on marketing and advertising – a Facebook/Instagram/TikTok page, use influencers, buy branded uniforms, and invest in the massage kits. With the right strategy, you could squeeze a basic webpage within the Ksh10,000 budget and start receiving clients!
Tree Farming
Unlike the other business ideas discussed in this article, tree farming is mainly a long-term and passive income opportunity. The world is increasingly focusing on the climate change crisis – which the current government has also indicated it would prioritize.
The value of trees, in the coming years, is likely to be two-fold. The first one is that the demand for trees is rising, and the prices of trees will increase in the coming years. Secondly, there is potential in the carbon-emissions trade.
As the pressure on companies to reduce carbon emissions rises – Kenya has considered introducing a carbon credit system. The previous regime had indicated that in the coming years, companies would have specific credits – allowing them to emit emissions up to a certain point and, if exhausted – buy from tree farmers.
Home Cooking
The hustle of modern-day working pressure is that more people do not have the time to prepare meals at home due to time constraints and the fatigue that follows.
There are some Kenyans who are not able to afford a house help to help with cooking chores and they still do not wish to spend on hotel meals which are more often expensive options.
This business idea can be operated by an individual or an entrepreneur with the help of staff who are passionate about cooking. You then brand and market the business to attract clients who will have an appointment where a chef will visit their home on a specific day, make multiple meals, and store them in a fridge/freezer – for a fee.
Office Lunch Deliveries
Kenyans have increasingly returned to the physical working system after the global pandemic. However, many workers often work in office blocks or stations with limited options for buying meals. If you happen to know a few office blocks with such challenges – here could be a business idea.
You print out cards announcing your services – say delivery of breakfast/lunch and the respective menu. You then prepare the meals from home and have them delivered to the clients who will have ordered at a certain agreed time – say a few hours before.
Laundry Business
Mama fuas are some of the most popular service providers in Kenyan estate – especially among bachelors. The trouble with them is that most have difficulty duplicating their business model – due to limited business management skills.
If you can spot the thorough mama fuss, brand them, and have them managed through a website or social media page – there would be great business sense.
You would then be able to upscale the model to more people – while you focus on maintaining the standards and marketing for more business. Ksh10,000 would be more than enough for such a business.
Rental Houses Agent
According to the UN-Habitat, Kenya has a housing demand of Ksh250,000 units yearly – but only 50,000 units are produced annually. One of the most difficult assignments for non-homeowners is house hunting.
From experience, it is very difficult to have a match between your budget, house size, location, amenities, and securities, among other considerations.
Something has to give – and unfortunately, the decision is made after many hours spent viewing houses – some that are far apart and in dusty estates.
Imagine if all these tasks could be done at the click of a button on YouTube or social media. Well, you could make money by enabling future tenants with their searches – especially in the cities where there is increasingly less spare time for these tasks.