With a large number of people complaining about the high unemployment rate and slow economic growth, a lot of Kenyans are turning to entrepreneurship to keep up with the demand for human wants.
People often say it requires a lot of money to start a business but with an idea and a resourceful mind, it may not cost as an arm and a leg. Here is a list of ideas to try out with Kshs5,000 capital.
1. Making Homemade Strawberry Jam You will require some strawberries, sugar, and lemons. You will also need a sufuria (pot), mwiko (wooden stick) and some plastic containers for packaging. One kilogram of strawberries will give you approximately 6 cans of jam each weighing 250 grams. Tutorials are available on YouTube on how to prepare homemade jam.
2. Door Mats
Margaret Nyambura learned how to make mats from a YouTube channel and decided to make a living out of it. She spent around Ksh3,000 as capital to buy materials such as a mat mesh, wool, scissors needles, and a crotchet. She sells them at Ksh5,000 each.
3. Delivering Groceries
A grocery dealer, Hannah Wambua, recalls how she started by buying groceries for about Ksh2,300 and spent Shs700 on transport and packaging material.
On getting home, she divided the vegetables into Ksh100 packs, which would give her a profit of Ksh50, and within three days, she had sold out all the groceries.
4. Selling wallpapers.
Have you ever moved into a house and wanted to repaint but neither the landlord nor your pocket would have none of it? You are not alone and here is how to take advantage of it.
How about getting an affordable wallpaper of your choice from a décor shop. Better yet, how about buying one from as low as Kshs1,800 and selling it to your friend at a markup?
5. Perfume
Jackline Kerubo is a business owner dealing with refilling perfumes. She started the business one year ago.
She sells perfume at a wholesale price of Ksh100 for a small bottle. You could resell them at Ksh200 or Ksh250 each, depending on your customers.
6.Daycare
Are you unemployed but live in a neighborhood with many kids? This could be a good opportunity to turn your house into a daycare centre for neighbours with a tight work schedule and lots of parenting to do.
Expenses would include toys and meals. As for the toys, it is important to be resourceful with items you can find in the house.
7. Making beads
You need beads. A kilogram of beads goes for Ksh370 at Kariakor Market in Nairobi. If you sold every bracelet at Ksh100 you would only need to sell 4 to break even. Every other bracelet sold would be your profit.
This is a business that may be looked down upon by many yet it has good returns. A 5-litre coffee thermos contains 33 x 150ml cups of coffee. Sell each cup at Ksh10 and you will make Ksh330 per flask.
9. Selling Boiled Eggs
To start this egg business you need a capital of around Ksh1,000 to start. One egg goes for around Ksh10 at wholesale price and then sells at Ksh20. That’s roughly Ksh10 in profit for every egg sold.
10. Become a clown
If all else fails, you can decide to be a clown or mascot at parties, events and public gatherings.
A mascot costume is available from Ksh2500 and you could hire it out at events at Ksh3000 per day.
