Do you know that with 10k you can start a profitable business in Kenya? A business can transform your life completely from a jobless person to a millionaire. Due to the high unemployment rate in the country, small businesses provide income to many households. Some of the businesses don’t require special skills. Online businesses are also thriving as a result of internet availability. Experts can start freelancing with very little or no capital at all. They can even offer their services globally. You can succeed in operating these businesses in rural and urban areas. Therefore, there is no need to move to cities to look for jobs. Have a keen look at available business options, and you’ll find one business to do wherever you’re. To make your work easier, we’ve compiled a list of 15 profitable businesses to start with 10K in Kenya.
1. Selling Cereals
The business of selling cereals is highly profitable. Many homes both in rural and urban areas consume grains daily. To make a profit, you can buy these cereals in bulk and retail them. You’ll purchase at low prices(wholesale) and sell them higher. For instance, A 90kg bag of maize goes for 3k; by selling @ kg at Kshs 40, you’ll make a profit of Kshs 600 per bag. Best cereals to sell in Kenya include:
- Rice
- Millet
- Wheat
- Maize
- Beans
- Peas.
Also, prices of cereals are low during harvesting seasons because many farmers sell their produce during this period. You can buy them, store them, and sell them when prices increase.
2. Selling Mitumba Business
You can start a business selling second-hand clothes. The demand for second-hand clothes is high due to the uniqueness of the clothes, high quality, and low prices. In the mitumba business, you can buy clothes at a low price and resell them at a higher price. You sell them door to door, hawking in town centres, or opening a small store.
You can buy 20 clothes each at Kshs 100 and resell each at Kshs 150. Out of 2K, you’ll make a 1K profit. Gikomba market in Nairobi offers the best prices; however, due to transport costs, you can consider local cloth markets near you.
If you’ve contacts of a trustworthy wholesale seller, they can send you the clothes by bus delivery services. You don’t have to spend money travelling to the market centres. The prices of new clothes are high, thus people who can’t afford them go for second-hand clothes.
Here are some of the best mitumba clothes to sell in Kenya.
3. Online Business
Internet availability makes working online a tenable business. There are many expert services which you can offer online. You work as a freelancer. Some of the businesses, the equipment you require to run them, and their functions are as tabulated below.
| Online Business | Equipment Required | Functions of the business |
| Blogging | Website | As a blogger, you create content targeting a specific audience. You get profit by advertising brands on your websites. |
| Affiliate Marketing | Website | Affiliate marketers sell products online for other people. You earn a commission on every sale on your link or banner. |
| Social Media Management | Smartphone | As a social media manager, you manage social media pages for companies and famous people for pay. |
| Virtual Assistant | Smartphone | As a virtual assistant, you perform administrative duties online for companies and people. Earn income from their services. |
| Data Entry | Smartphone | As a Data entry officer, you type data online and get paid for your services. |
Opening and hosting a website costs between 5K to 20K. Also,10K is enough to buy a smartphone.
Once you succeed in your online business, a free online receipt template will come in handy to help generate invoices accurately and efficiently.
4. Starting Street Food Business
Many people in towns eat at street food hotels, commonly known as Kibanda.
To open a kibanda, you can use your sufurias from home and only buy food ingredients as low as 1k budget, thus cutting on starting costs. You can begin by selling breakfast, then the money you make you buy lunch food ingredients.
Also, selling snacks like boiled eggs and smokies is one of the easiest businesses to start in Kenya. For this, you should target busy areas like bus stops and marketplaces.
5. Selling Ladies Shoes And Handbags
Most ladies are trendy and fashion lovers. They possess multiple pairs of shoes in their wardrobes. Shoes and handbags are like accessories for them.
Purchasing high-quality shoes and handbags and reselling them at a higher price reaps profits. You can buy 20 shoes each at Kshs 500 and resell each pair at Kshs 800.
Many women are impulsive buyers, and a beautiful item can’t pass them.
You can purchase shoes at the Kamukunji market in Nairobi.
6. Cleaning Business
To start a cleaning business, you require detergents, buckets, mops, or a vacuum cleaner.
A washing bucket costs Kshs 500, mopper Kshs 600. After some cleaning, you’ll be able to buy a vacuum cleaner.
You can offer cleaning services to offices, homes, churches, or schools. If you do the work well, your customers recommend you to other people.
If you land multiple cleaning jobs, you can consider hiring another person to help you. You pay your employee a lesser amount, thus making a profit.
7. Poultry Keeping and Hatching Business
Luckily, many households keep poultry. Therefore a market to buy and sell poultry is readily available. Different bird species are kept. They include; duck, turkey, chicken, and geese.
You may buy the birds’ chicks, rear them up to maturity and sell at a higher price. For instance, buying one-day-old kienyeji chicks costs Kshs 100. With 10K, you can buy 100 chicks. You’ll sell a mature chicken for Kshs 500 to Kshs 1,000.
Also, you can buy poultry at a low price in the villages and sell them at a higher price in towns or cities.
Hatching business only requires a hatcher and space. You hatch eggs and sell chicks to poultry farmers in retail or wholesale. An egg sells at Kshs 20, and a one-day-old chick Kshs 100.
8. Crop and Livestock Farming
If you’ve got bare land or space, 10k is enough to start crop and livestock farming.
Profitable crops to farm in Kenya include:
- Maize
- Beans
- Rice
- Water melon
- vegetables like sukuma wiki, spinach, kunde, and managu.
An important point to note is that you must farm based season. If it’s a rainy season, the chances of your crops doing well are high. However, if it’s during the dry season, invest in irrigation equipment to prevent your crops from withering.
You’ll use the 10K capital to buy planting seeds, fertilizer, tilling land, and harvesting. In planting maize on half acre land, you’ll require Kshs 1K for seeds, 3K for fertilizer, 3K for tilling, and 2K for harvesting.
You may consider buying young livestock like sheep and goats and rearing them for some time then resell them at a profit. A young sheep/goat costs 2K, and you’ll sell when mature at 5K.
Also, you can purchase emaciated cattle, feed them well to fatten then sell at a better price.
9. Rabbit Rearing
10k can buy 30 baby rabbits. One goes for around Kshs 350. You feed them well and sell them when they mature. You also can wait until they give birth and sell the baby rabbits to neighbouring farms.
Demand for rabbit meat is always high at hotels and homes. This is because not many Kenyans have invested in rabbits. You can sell a mature one for above 1K.
The cost of keeping rabbits is low. Also, they don’t require constant attention; thus, it can be a side hustle.
10. Printing and Photocopying
With just one rim of printing papers and a printer, you can start a printing and photocopying business. A printer will cost you approximately 7K, while printing papers per rim costs Kshs 400.
The business thrives near universities and colleges. Lectures mostly give notes in the form of soft copies, and students are required to photocopy the notes.
If you’re a student starting the business, it’s easier for you to pouch for customers at your classes. Also, you run the business at your hostel, meaning you save on rent.
11. Opening a Home Salon
Many people cannot travel to town centres to have their hair done. Others cannot afford urban salons. They are your target market when setting up a home salon.
To open, you’ll buy equipment to use. You’ll need the following salon equipment at the start:
- Blow-dry at Ksh. 3,000
- Salon sink at Ksh. 5,000
- Water heater at Ksh. 300,
- Essential beauty products at Ksh. 1,000.
As a salonist, you can offer your services everywhere. Some hairstyles don’t require any equipment, only hands. Be open to visiting customers at their homes and making their hair.
The business can start earning profits within a day, as long as you land a customer.
12. Small Barbershop
Opening a small barbershop requires money to buy required equipment. A shaving machine will cost you around 2K, hairbrush Kshs 200, Shaving spirit Kshs 700, and a shaving chair 5K.
To cut costs, you can offer the services at home.
To have the edge over your competitors, offering affordable and unique services is necessary. The special services include visiting customers (sick, elderly, and those with no time to visit your barbershop) at their homes to give them a haircut. As you charge them, you include the transport costs incurred. A lovely look is good for everyone.
13. Delivery Business
People are becoming busier every day; delivery service businesses are picking up and making good profits.
Delivery services are growing in light of online shopping.
You can be the bridge between suppliers and customers—goods to deliver include; office items, groceries, and electronics.
You’ll need a Bodaboda or car to offer efficient, fast delivery services. Fast delivery will sell you as a pro in the business, and customers will recommend you to others. If you don’t own a car or bodaboda, hiring for a day, week, or month is necessary. Hiring a bodaboda for a day will cost you Kshs 400, and a taxi will cost 3K per day.
14. Making Homemade Organic Soap
People who use large amounts of soap daily for hotels or washing clothes prefer homemade organic soap. It’s cheaper and is packed in reasonable quantities.
Not many Kenyans have invested in this business. Thus, it’s one of the untapped profitable businesses to start in Kenya at the moment.
The essential ingredients and their prices are;
- Industrail salt 3/4Kg
- Ungerol 1Kg
- Sulfonic acid 500 Ml
- Caustic flakes 10 GM
- Soda ash 15 gm
- Coconut die 15 gm
- Colours 25 gm
- Perfume 15 ml
If you’re not familiar with the process of making soap, watch the video below for instructions:
15. Selling Stock Photos
With a good smartphone, you can venture into the photography business. Photography sites buy photos in stocks. The sites include; Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, and iStockPhoto. Selling the images is done online.
A budget of 10K will get you a good smartphone.
You take photos of people, travel sites, foods, and nature and sell them. If you love nature, this is a good fit for you.
Also, you can use photos on your websites.
Factors to Consider When Choosing a Business in Kenya
Now that you know the different businesses to start with 10K in Kenya, how do you choose one that’ll be successful? This is a question many Kenyans ask. The following are key factors to consider when choosing a business to start in Kenya:
- Location: Where you place your business matters a lot. Ideally, you should start a business in a visible environment with high traffic.
- Legal requirements: Different businesses have different legal requirements in Kenya. For nstance, starting a food business requires safety permits from the National and County governments. You must acquire these permits to avoid frustrations by Kanjos.
- Cost: When starting a business, it must fit within your budget. If you have 10k, you should start a business you’re sure can be funded with a capital of Ksh. 10,000.
- Competitors: Competitors are among different barriers to entry in business. Before starting a business, assess the location to ensure that the business can be sustained. If the area has similar businesses that are established, consider starting a different business or relocating.
Final Thoughts
People are looking for ways to earn a living. Since unemployment is high, they end up starting small businesses.
If you’re unemployed, this list of businesses to start with 10K in Kenya should give you an idea of what to do. All you need is resilience, hard work, and patience.
These businesses can be run in urban or rural areas. Rural businesses’ success will reduce the relocation of people to cities from rural areas.
Start a small business and watch its growth.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which business can I start with 5K in Kenya?
You can start the following businesses with 5K in Kenya:
- Selling chips mwitu
- Boiled eggs business
- Delivery services
- Making and selling door mats
- Blend and sell juice
- Buy and sell ladies’ cosmetics
How can I make 3000 a day in Kenya?
There are different ways you can make Ksh. 3,000 in a day. They include:
- Working as a freelance writer (academic or article). Most freelance writers are paid 1 bob per word. Therefore, if you do 3,000 words daily, you’ll earn Ksh. 3,000.
- Forex trading. Take forex classes to master trading skills and start the business. Based on the sales you make per day, you can earn more than Ksh. 3,000.
- Provide food delivery services. Most delivery guys in Nairobi are paid Ksh. 500 per delivery. You only need to make 6 deliveries in a day to make Ksh. 3,000.
- Digital marketing. Most businesses in Kenya are going digital. Thus, they need digital marketers to propel their success and the pay is in the upwards of Ksh. 3,000 daily.
Where can I invest 10K in Kenya?
You can invest 10K in Kenya by starting businesses like selling mitumba clothes, putting up a small barbershop or saloon, offering food delivery services, and boiled eggs and smokies business. Alternatively, you can put this money in a SACCO to earn you dividends and interests. Find out the best SACCOs to join in Kenya.
