15 Profitable Side Hustles in Kenya to Build Wealth [2024]

Do you want to make some extra money without having to leave your main job? We will be revealing some of the best side hustles in Kenya that can help you do just that.

Whether you’re looking for a way to make some extra cash or want to start your own business, these side hustles are sure to give you the boost you need.

So, if you are searching for side hustles in Kenya that will make you rich or just an extra stream of income to supplement your main one, we will show you how to get started.

The Most Creative Side Hustles in Kenya

• Online writing 
• Social media marketing 
• Event planning 
• Affiliate marketing 
• Salon or barbershop business 
• Bartender/ Waiter and Waitress
• Raid-hailing and delivery services 
• Cleaning services 
• Part-time teaching 
• Cake making 
• Consultancy services 
• Moving services 
• Taxi business 
• Crop farming Farming 
• Poultry

1. Become an Online Writer

Online writing requires zero investment. All you need is passion, determination, and willingness to learn. The most common forms of online writing are academic and articles/blog writing. Depending on what you choose to do, this can be one lucrative side hustle to make extra cash in Kenya.

Academic writing entails helping students locally or abroad with their term papers and final exams in exchange for money. You will mostly be paid per page of work you do. This is probably the best side hustle for students in Kenya.

Article/blog writing is where you write content for an online audience. Unlike academic writing, blog writing is usually paid on a per-word or hourly basis.

What you need:

• Good writing skills
• A good laptop or desktop computer
• An internet connection

How to get started:

• Learn how to write for the web or for academic pap
• Make a website or blog where you can showcase your work.
• You can also start by posting some of your articles on LinkedIn. Once you have good enough samples, start reaching out to people who need content writers online and give them samples of your work.

Earning Potential:

For academic writing, you get paid per page. If you are working under someone in Kenya, you can earn anywhere between KES 250 to KES 500 per page. If you are working directly with an off-shore client, you can make up to KES 2000 page.

For blog writing, you will likely get paid per word. You can earn from as low as KES 0.5 per word to KES 4.0 or more per word if you are working for a local client. For international clients, you can make up to KES 10 per word or more.

Long-term potential:

This side hustle requires you to constantly work on your writing skills. The more content you write, the better your chance of becoming a professional writer.

There will always be students who need help with their academic work and there will always be clients who need content for their blogs or articles. You can make a long-term income from this side hustle by learning new skills and always looking for better-paying clients.

2. Become a Social Media Marketer

Social Media marketing involves leveraging social media platforms to build and connect with a loyal audience where you can promote your brand, services, and products or drive traffic to your website. ¹

Anyone can do this side hustle, provided they have enough traffic on their social media accounts. If you own a Facebook account, Instagram account, or YouTube channel, you can use that platform as an “online billboard” for products and services.

You can either do social media marketing for your own brand or get paid by companies to manage their campaigns on social platforms. Whichever you choose, this can be one of the best side hustles in Kenya if done correctly. 

What you need:

• Knowledge in using at least one of the popular social media platforms to promote products or services
• Good social media following
• Social media marketing skills

How to get started:

• Create a Facebook or Instagram page for your brand or a YouTube channel and then start posting content that is cool, funny, or informative.
• Start using hashtags on Instagram to discover new people who have similar interests as you.
• Post photos of people using your products and ask them to share the post with their friends if they liked it.
• Comment on other people’s posts and engage with them. You can even direct message them to ask how you can help.
• Once you have built a good following, start posting content related to your products or services.

Earning Potential:

• Depends on the number of followers you have and how much you charge for your services. The more followers you have, the higher your earning potential.
• The types of clients you get will also determine how much you make

Long-term potential:

This side hustle will take time before it becomes profitable but if done right, you can build a long-term income from it. Remember that more companies are turning to social media to market their brands

3. Do Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is where you earn commissions from an online retailer for the sales you generate from your referrals. It is more advanced than social media marketing. 

Usually, you are given a unique affiliate link that you share on your blog, social media platforms, or website. This link has a specific code or identifier that the online retailer uses to know which sales were made through your link. 

When someone clicks on a link containing your unique code and completes a desired action such as buying something, signing up for a newsletter, or enrolling for a course, you get paid a commission. 

What you need:

• A website or blog where you can promote affiliate links
• Good marketing skills
• Preferably social pages with a good following

How to get started:

Sign up for an affiliate marketing program that offers commissions on specific products. Good examples include Jumia’s KOL and Kilimall’s affiliate program.

Start promoting the products on your blog and social medial pages by reviewing informative reviews.

Earning Potential:

It depends on how good you are at promoting products through your social media platforms and website. You can earn 100,000 KES per month if your following is huge or only earn a few hundred KES per month.

The earnings will also depend on the affiliate program you join and the commissions of the products you are promoting

Long-term potential:

Affiliate marketing is growing by the day as more eCommerce companies adopt it. Even big companies such as Jumia find it more effective than Google Ads. It is a long-term side hustle because as time goes on and your website and social media pages become popular, you stand to make even more.

4. Become a Bartender

Although it may not seem like a side hustle at first, bartending can quickly become one of the best side hustles in Kenya. It’s easy to get started and you don’t need any formal education or training because most bars will hire you without experience when you are flexible with your shifts.

You can easily make up to 30,000 KES per month if you bartend on the weekend, and up to 60,000 KES or more if you bartend during weekdays.

This is definitely one of the best side hustles for university students in Kenya because it’s flexible and has great potential for making extra income.

What you need:

• A flexible schedule
• Some bartending skills such as good customer service skills and making good drinks
• A cellphone to take messages during your shift in case your manager needs to reach you.

How to get started:

• Apply at bars near you that are looking for a bartender or ask friends who own a bar if they need a bartender for when you are out of your main job.
• If you don’t have any friends who own a bar, try looking up bars in your area on Facebook and send them a message asking if they are hiring.
• Submit your resume to available positions online or in person.

Earning Potential:

• 30,000 KES per month if you bartend on the weekend
• 60,000 KES or more per month if you bartend during weekdays.

Long-term potential:

There will always be bars and clubs so you can be sure that the bartending side hustle will always be there for you. If you love the job, you can even work your way up the ranks and become a manager.

5. Become an Event Planner

Most events like weddings and parties happen outside working hours and working days. They usually come on the holidays and weekends.

This means that you have a huge opportunity to become an even organizer when you are not working and make some extra money on the side.

Even planning involves a variety of services such as:

• Catering
• Decorations
• Tend hiring
• Logistics
• Entertainment
• Collaborating with subcontractors
• Identifying venue and so on

This is probably one of the most profitable side hustles in Kenya. You can make up to KES 50K or more per event depending on how big it is or what it is about. 

What you need:

• Good people skills since you will be interacting with a lot of people
• Good management skills to manage both time and your subcontractors
• Logistics resources such as trucks, manpower, and so on

How to get started:

• You can start as a freelancer by planning parties for your friends or people you know.
• Get referrals from them after the event to expand your client base. If you are good, word of mouth will spread fast, and soon enough you won’t have any free time because all your weekends will be booked.
• You can also create a website and social media pages to advertise your services

Earning Potential:

Depends on how much you will charge per event and how many events you have per month

Will also depend on the number of overhead costs you have. These include paying employees, refueling cars, etc.

Long-term potential:

Event planning is becoming more popular in Kenya and it is a growing market. This means that if you want to make a long-term income from this, be prepared to work hard and establish yourself in the event planning industry.

6. Do Delivery Services

If you have a motorbike or bicycle and some extra flexible schedule, this can be a profitable side hustle for you. As a messenger rider, you will collect bank cheques, parcels, and other light items and deliver them to specific locations within a certain area. 

You can also sign up with food vendors like KFC or transport and delivery Apps like Uber Eats and Glovo as their delivery agents. With such, you will earn a commission-based income.

With this type of part-time job, it might not be possible to cover a larger geographical area because of the limited schedule and time unless you have employees to cover for you.

What you need:

• A motorbike or bicycle
• Probably a health certificate
• Familiarity with the area you will be operating in
• A good phone to install the app and take orders
• Government ID

How to get started:

• Sign up at companies that are looking for delivery agents like Uber Eats, Glovo or Jumia Food. 
• You can also research on Google whether there are any other food vendors that are looking for riders in your area.

Earning Potential:

• The earning potential in this type of side hustle depends on the number of customers you have and how much commission the company will pay you for each delivery.
• How much you’ll earn per drop varies from one rider to another depending on location, distance, time taken to complete a delivery, and current workload among other factors.

Long-term potential:

The delivery business is booming now more than ever. So, as long as you love the job, this side hustle is perfect for you because there will always be people who need things delivered to their homes.

7. Start a Cleaning Business

Most people don’t have time to do their own cleaning and would be more than happy to pay you to do it for them. 

You can spend a little cash on a few detergents and cleaning equipment for this venture. Of course, you have to possess a few skills to start.

You will need to make a schedule that is convenient for both you and the client. For example, you can arrange to do the cleaning over the weekends. Cleaning services encompass general home cleaning, doing laundry, and housekeeping. You can also add a car wash machine just in case your clients require you to clean their vehicles from their homes.

Since you are doing it as a part-time side hustle, you can get clients and agree with them at a convenient time to do the cleaning.

What you need:

• Decent knowledge on how to clean and a few cleaning equipment like mops, brooms, window squeegee and vacuum cleaners
• Probably a business permit
• Some seed capital

How to get started:

• Put up an ad online or offline. You can also post your details on platforms like Angaza Careers where companies looking for house helps usually advertise their services.
• Alternatively, you can also create marketing flyers and post them at office buildings in your area.

Earning Potential:

Cleaning services usually charge a flat or hourly fee per job. So, your earning potential will depend on how long it takes to do the cleaning task and the number of clients you have per month.

Long-term potential:

There is a growing demand for cleaning services as people are now busier with life and don’t have time to clean their homes. If you are serious about this side hustle, you can scale it up by hiring other cleaners to do the tasks for you while you manage them all.

8. Do Part-Time Teaching or Tutoring

If you are passionate about studying and teaching, then this side hustle can earn you good extra cash in Kenya. You can do it in two ways, either liaise with students and parents for home tutoring or make an agreement with teaching institutions to set a flexible schedule for you.

The pay depends on the level of education and the hours you take teaching. The schedule is even more flexible if you are teaching college and university students because you can always come up with a time that is convenient for both. 

For pupils and lower-grade students, the schedule can be a bit rigid because the schools run on timetables that you need to follow. Either way, this happens to be one of the best side hustles for teachers in Kenya. 

What you need:

• Definitely good teaching skills
• Probably a license or certificate to teach

How to get started:

• Apply at schools and institutions near you that need part-time teachers. If they don’t have any vacancies, you can offer your services as a tutor and ask them to recommend other schools that might need your services.
• You can also work directly with parents to teach their kids at home
• Encourage people to spread the word about your service
• If you want to teach online you can register with online tutoring sites

Earning Potential:

The hourly pay varies from institution to institution or the parents of students you home-school.

Also depends on the number of hours you work part-time

Long-term potential:

If you are really good at teaching, you can always depend on the fact that there will always be schools and institutions looking for part-time teachers. You can also make a long-term income from this side hustle by tutoring online instead of just 101.

9. Start a Bakery Business

Baking requires some basic training. There are several colleges in the country, especially in Nairobi, that offer a few months of baking courses. Once you have the right expertise, you can begin working on weekends. 

You can specialize in occasions like Birthdays and weddings. We recommend you start by setting up a small cake house in the estate, or if you have enough money, you can rent a shop in the Central Business District or a more strategic location.

You can also have an employee or two to help you manage the business when you have a tight schedule. 

If you are looking to speed up things, we recommend you get an electric mixer. This will save you a ton of time and ensure you make your cakes faster.

10. Become a Part-time Taxi Driver

You can always convert that saloon car into a taxi when you are free. In Kenya, there are several taxi apps like Uber, Bolt, and Taxify. The advantage of such Apps is that you will work whenever you want. All you need is a vehicle and a smartphone.

The app allows you to see when someone needs a ride. You only pick such calls when you are free and in the same location. That is why we think this is the perfect side hustle to start in Kenya.

You can work a few hours after your regular working schedule, or you can employ someone to drive the car and bring you the money at the end of their shifts. The same applies to the matatu business.

11. Start Poultry Farming 

While you will get mixed opinions about chicken farming, it is actually a very profitable venture when done right. In fact, this is one of the best side hustles in Kenya that you can use to complement your main income. 

The only downside to this hustle is that it is fairly risky. You will need to be actively involved and give your chicken a lot of attention. If you can’t, find a reliable manager who can provide constant care and ensure that the chicken lives in a safe and clean poultry house. 

12. Store people’s stuff at your house

I have been living in Nairobi for a long time and have had plenty of friends who were looking for a place to store their furniture or other household items while they moved from one place to another.

This is a perfect side hustle because it’s flexible and doesn’t require much startup capital.

You simply rent out space at your house or apartment to people who need a place to store their stuff while they move from one place to another.

What you need:

• A spare room, a basement or a garage where you can store people’s stuff
• Good organization skills to avoid mixing up people’s stuff

How to get started:

• Put up an ad on Craigslist or post flyers around your neighbourhood.
• You can also post your phone number on the ad and tell people to call you if they are interested in renting space for their furniture or household items.

Earning Potential:

Depends on the number of customers you get per month and how you charge for the service. There is higher earning potential in urban than rural areas.

Long-term potential:

As long as you have space and people will always be moving from one place to another, you can stick to this side hustle as long as you want. You can make a long-term income from this side hustle by investing in a bigger house and renting out some of its rooms.

13. Trade Cryptocurrencies

Since the creation of Bitcoin in 2009, crypto trading has become one of the best online side hustles in Kenya. Cryptocurrencies are encrypted digital coins that are not controlled by any bank or government.

You can generate income from cryptos by buying and selling them on exchanges such as Paxful.com. Many people trade cryptocurrencies because it’s fast, flexible and profitable. Cryptos also offer higher payouts than forex trading.

What you need:

• A smartphone or a computer with an internet access
• Knowledge of the crypto market and a basic understanding of cryptocurrencies
• Good trading skills

How to get started:

• Do some research on crypto trading if you don’t know how it works
• Sign up for free on a crypto trading platform in Kenya
• Start buying cryptos like Bitcoins when the price is low and sell when high

Earning Potential:

Depends on how much money you have to invest and the volume of cryptos that you trade in. Cryptocurrencies have different prices and earning potential for each will vary

Also depends on your trading skills and market condition

Long-term potential:

Even with continued prophecies of a possible crypto-crash, cryptocurrencies are probably here to stay, so you can do this as long as you want.

14. Flip Motorbikes

Boda Boda business in Kenya is all the rage these days. This means that there is a higher demand for motorbikes. However, since most of the bodaboda operators are low-income earners, they’ll probably be looking for cheap motorbikes.

This presents a huge opportunity for you to create a lucrative side hustle in Kenya by flipping motorbikes. This means you buy second-hand motorbikes market, renovate them a bit and then sell them to bodaboda operators at a higher price.

What you need:

• Some capital to start with, anywhere between KES 100,000 and KES 500,000 should be enough depending on the model of the motorbike that you want to flip.
• A trusted supplier of second-hand motorbikes. We recommend working with a motorcycle financing company that will supply you with motorbikes that are confiscated from people who are unable to pay their loans.
• You might need a car to carry the bikes if you are buying from one town and selling at another

How to get started:

• Let people know that you sell cheap motorbikes
• Look for a supply and buy a cheap motorbike
• Fix the bike and make it look better
• Resell at a slightly higher price. For instance, you bought at 50k you can sell for 60k or 70k.
• Earning potential:

Depends on how much you buy and sell the bike. Generally, this side hustle has good earning potential.

Long-term potential:

The market for second-hand motorbikes is only growing bigger every day. You can make a long-term income from this side hustle if you are good at what you do and relate with your customers well.

Why Do You Need Side Hustles in Kenya?

A recent survey by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics shows that 9 out of 10 workers in Kenya are afraid of losing their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic. ²

According to the survey, about 4% of employed workers feared that they would be out of work for up to six months or even lose their jobs altogether.

What does this tell you?

You are not always safe in your main job, however much you love it… or the money it provides. So, how do you cushion yourself from these uncertainties? Well, you could get adopted by a rich offshore family or become a Nigerian prince.

Very tempting possibilities, but we recommend starting a side hustle in Kenya.

That said, there are many benefits to starting a side hustle, and here are a few of the most important ones:

• They provide you with additional income
• They allow you to gain valuable skills that could help you land a better job in the future
• They make it easier to get a raise or promotion at your regular job
• They help you save more money and provide financial security for the future
• They help you create more free time in your life by making it easier to work fewer hours at your regular job and still make ends meet
• They can be a gateway to building a lucrative business venture
• They may give you a sense of purpose in life especially when you are doing what you love.

The Bottom Line

There are so many avenues to make extra cash for yourself. Some of these hassles need monetary investments, while some need what you already have like a phone or laptop. Whatever you want to do, the above side hassles plus many others can make you richer.

1. Investopedia, Social Media Marketing (SMM): What It Is, How It Works, Pros and Cons.
2. Citizen Digital, 9 Out Of 10 Kenyans Uncertain Of Return To Work As Covid-19 Pandemic Bites