BEST BUSINESS FOR FRESH GRADUATES IN KENYA

For many, life in college presents an opportunity to mingle with friends and spend plenty of free time exploring various curiosity points in life.

When the graduation day comes, though, most graduates are not prepared for whatever challenges life has to offer. Whether to venture into business or pursue the ever-scarce positions in formal employment suddenly becomes a dilemma.

In the midst of all this confusion, some get completely lost in life – losing precious moments at the peak of their lives.

Who is to blame? Is it our porous education system that falls short of equipping our learners with important skills? Is it the society that fails to create a good example to the young generation? Or is it the government which has failed to do its role?

Business is the way to go especially for fresh graduates who are seeking to find a footing. More often, fresh graduates wonder which best profitable business to do in Kenya before they secure employment.

It’s hard to get a straight answer from your peers but with deep thoughts and research, it’s easy to identify a viable opportunity.

Below I list some of the most profitable businesses to do in Kenya with little capital as a graduate.

*Academic writing*

Academic writing has become a primary source of income for thousands of fresh graduates in Kenya. Currently, over 3,000 graduates are heavily involved in academic writing. Of course this is one form of employment; however it doubles as a business.

When you are dealing with academic writing, what you need is a computer and internet.

The first step to joining this elite group is by identifying the best academic writing jobs.

Below are some of the best academic writing sites for Kenyans:

WriterBay

Uvocorp

Essay Shark

Asiawriters

Bluecorp

Academia Research

Freelance Writing Center

Writerslabs

Quality Writers

Allwriting

PowerPapers

WriteDom

4Writers

In freelancing, you can make up to Ksh.20,000 per day and at least Ksh.15,000 every month.

*Blogging*

Blogging is one of the best ways to earn passive income in Kenya. As a fresh graduate, you are full of energy, enthusiasm and creativity.

The beauty of this business is that you don’t need a lot of capital; the average cost of starting a blog is Ksh.5,000 and it takes less than a week to launch one.

The best advice I can give you; never wait for someone to push you to start a blog, seek information online, approach web designers and spend a few coins. At the end of the day, you will have something to keep you busy and to make a living from.

*Online shop*

Another unique idea involves online shop like Jumia. To start a small online shop you need a capital of as low as Ksh.10,000 up to Ksh.50,000.

I have designed websites for a couple of companies in Kenya and I can confidently say, in this business, it’s not about the capital but how best you can market your company. What is required is a website design where companies can advertise their products.

*Boutique*

Boutique is more suitable to female graduates. Since this business requires time and patience to grow, a fresh graduate will be the best person to launch it.

Boutique business works well when you know your customers in person. Since you had friends in college, you can use them as your first customers.

You can source stock from Eastleigh or Gikomba at a throw away price or fly to Dubai or China. Boutique starting capital is as low as Ksh.50,000.

*Farming*

Many youths in the country have shunned farming, most of them have migrated to the city in search of employment. The reality is, the city can’t accommodate everyone. Farming is one of the most lucrative ventures, sadly our youths don’t want to get dirty.

If at your village there is land, don’t waste time in towns, migrate to the village and embark on farming.

*Car wash*

This is a business you can do without incurring losses. As a graduate you need as little as Ksh.50,000 up to Ksh.250, 000 to start a car wash anywhere in the country.

Sometimes back, my cousin told me he had Ksh.80,000 but wasn’t sure what he could do with the money for him to start generating an income.

I fronted the idea of car wash. This is what he told me,”Hii business ikianguka utanilipa hii pesa”.

I told him, “Nitakulipa double”.

I proposed for him Kericho and for sure he set the business up. It’s now two years na kijana ananipigia asante kila siku.

*Photocopy, Printing and Movie business*

In one room, put a business of selling movies, printing and photocopying documents. I propose that you set it up near colleges and universities.

*Selling KASNEB notes online*

If you did KASNEB courses, you can rake in a lot of money if you start a business where you sell KASNEB past papers, answers and notes online. Just start a website and source the notes from various institutions and sell them.

*Cosmetics shop*

If you are a lady, being fresh from college is the best time to start a cosmetics shop. It may look awkward at first but when you cash the first profit, you won’t think of employment anymore.

*Web design*

For those who pursued IT and Computer Science courses in college, don’t wait for the government to employ you. Time is important and the early you think of web design business the better.

In Kenya over 100 websites are created daily. Services for creating a single website cost Ksh.15,000 to Ksh.50,000. If you can create at least one or two websites per week, that’s cool money.

*Executive salon*

Graduates living in Nairobi have the best chance to make money. Nairobi women love beauty and decency. By starting an executive salon, you will bring services closer to your estate.

I know women who run salon business in Nairobi and make profits in the tune of Ksh.5 million per month.

There is actually one salon in Kilimani which charges Ksh.20,000 per single head and the owner walks home with at least Ksh.3 million every month.

*Finally;*

Sure, you may not have all the money required to start your business and luck may not be on your side as far as finding a job that’s relevant to what you learned in campus is concerned.

But that should not put you down. Get your hustle up, stop the blame game and most importantly – swing to action.

By

Justine Nyachieo
Business Man & Mentor

Timothy Angwenyi
Business Consultant

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