This humongous list of opportunities in the “gig economy,” shows you plenty of ways you can earn money in Kenya using your time or selling some of the stuff you currently own.
Whether it’s freelance writing or blogging or teaching online or hawking on Olx, or selling Maasai jewelry on Etsy, there are a lot of opportunities to make money. writing careers will help you find the right niche and show you how you can make money as a writer.
Finding the right path to pursue can be challenging for a beginner to earn money online Kenya, but there are a surprising number of options to explore in from this list. They all have some sort of online component. Because that is where the world is currently headed to anyway.
What's Covered in This Article
Become a freelance writer
With resources such as The Well-Fed Writer: Financial Self-Sufficiency as a Commercial Freelancer in Six Months or Less by Peter Bowerman for guidance, you can make money online by writing for pay.
Moreover, businesses of all shapes and sizes and in all industries are looking for quality content. However, finding legitimate clients and freelance writing jobs that pay well can sometimes be a challenge- especially when you’re still new.
That’s why I’ve put together this handy list of 50+ places to find freelance writing work – both job boards where you can get a freelance job directly as well as marketplaces specifically for freelance writers.
Get paid to Search and Surf the Web
PermissionResearch is part of a prestigious online market research community with over 2 million members worldwide. As a member, you’ll contribute to the future of the Internet by allowing them to monitor your Internet browsing and purchasing activity (which may include the content of web pages visited).
To recognize your participation in as a member of PermissionResearch, they’ll donate a tree through their Trees for Knowledge program. In addition, from time to time, PermissionResearch members may be contacted about special surveys that offer cash or gift cards as a “thank you” for participating.
Do you have a strong opinion about some software, whether positive or negative, and want to get paid for your review?
You are in the right place.
Zoombucks pays you for watching TV, answering surveys, completing offers and/or downloading apps. They pay up to $50 dollars for tell-it-like-it-is, no marketing BS, straight talking software reviews.
Get Paid to Write Reviews
In most cases you will be paid either in cash or in kind with free stuff.
Below are some websites that will pay Kenyans to write reviews:
ReviewStream offers several product categories for review, such as hotels, restaurants, clothes, and even software. ReviewStream.com is a publisher. They buy copyrights.
If your review falls under a “ReviewStream hot topic,” you earn $2. ReviewStream members who cast a vote for your posted review make you an additional $0.10/vote. The regular rate is subject to change and can be seen anytime on the content submission page.
Do you have strong opinions about software, whether positive or negative, and want to get paid for your reviews? You are in the right place.
SoftwareJudge pays up to $50 dollars for tell-it-like-it-is, no marketing BS, straight talking software reviews. With other reviews, you earn $1 per publication.
HOWEVER, it can’t be just ANY review for ANY software. They only accept HONEST reviews for software LISTED at SOFTWAREJUDGE.COM (the list isn’t huge, but you can pick what you like).
Obviously, your review has to be damn good for them to pay you fifty bucks and not every reviewer is going to get that much for a single review. However, you get paid at least a buck for any review published there. Ten reviews – ten bucks. Twenty reviews – twenty bucks. You do the math. The better your work, the more money you get for writing fewer reviews.
Just don’t submit more than three reviews in one day.
Besides freebies, like free reg keys and free games that they give away to best contributors, there are two ways you get paid: If you have $200 in your account, the default payment method is Western Union. If you have at least $20 in your account, you can request any software, game or an e-book that costs as much money as is currently available in your account (or less) to be purchased. BUT it has to be DOWNLOADABLE.
Video based reviews and you earn a revenue share.
While UserTesting is a great way to earn a few extra dollars on the side, it won’t make you rich. The number of opportunities you receive will depend on a number of factors, such as your demographics and your quality rating.
All applicants must record a quick sample video. It should only take about 5 minutes and will only record your screen and voice. Once your video is approved, you’ll be eligible for paid tests. Watch an applicant’s sample video to get an idea of what you’ll be expected to do when recording your own video.
As a user tester, you get paid to review websites and apps by completing a set of tasks, speaking your thoughts out loud. You get $10 via PayPal for every 20-minute video you complete.
This site is geared towards linking bloggers with advertisers. If you have a blog that gets a lot of traffic, you get a chance to review an advertised product on your blog, then notify LinkfromBlog that your review is ready. The site provides products that are up for review.
The best part about LinkfromBlog is that it accepts blogger reviews even from free sites like Blogger or WordPress.
Start a blog
Cherish dreams of starting your own blog?
Well, the best time to start was yesterday…
Blogging is a great way to not only put down your thoughts in writing, but also a great way to make money. And blogger success stories really are the talk of town these days!
The beauty about making money blogging in Kenya is its potential to earn you money as you sleep – aka passive income.
While it’s advisable to start off with free websites such as WordPress.com or blogspot.com, you DO NOT WANT TO GO THIS DIRECTION forever. Free platforms like these leave you at the mercy of these hosts and you’re not even allowed to earn from advertising. Besides, they can pull down your blog at whim and without warning.
If you are thinking of long-term, I highly recommend you immediately start working on how you will convert to a self-hosted platform such as Bluehost. As soon as is reasonably possible.
I personally recommend Bluehost since they have a great price for new bloggers and are very professional in handling issues. I personally use them for this website. Their hosting plan is $3.95/month which is a special price you can only get through my Bluehost link, so they’re definitely worth checking out.
Wondering what to blog about in Kenya?
You can pretty much blog on any topic. As long as you help your readers solve a problem, you could very easily make it big. Write like you have a solution for their problems – one way or the other your reader has a need—their problem—and through your blog, you can offer a solution.
If you are still not sure what to write about, here is a list of 100+niche blog ideas to start in Kenya today.
6 ways to earn money from website or blog:
- Using Google Adsense
You can earn on a cost per click(CPC) basis or per view. Adsense pays 1$ for 1,000 page views on average. Just be prepared to dilute your website user experience.
- Sell Advertising Space
Once you have sufficient traffic on your website, you can earn directly from advertisers who you charge to put their banners on your website.
- Sell E-books
Focus on first giving value free of charge then it will be a lot easier charging for it.
- Paid Newsletters
This is whereby subscribers pay to get your newsletter with VIP content.
- Selling Online Courses
This I already discussed in-depth above.
- Affiliate Marketing
Another way you can monetize your blog is by inserting affiliate links of recommended products and/or services, in the content. When readers click on the link and buy, you make money in the form of affiliate commissions.
You can start with for Amazon, Flipkart, Shareasale, Commission Junction, etc Because you add value to your reader’s life by recommending the right product through affiliate marketing.
Make video
Whether you’re looking to monetize your own videos showcasing your life or a specific talent, you can make money online from advertising, affiliate marketing, or sponsored promotion.
Below are some channels you can earn money from making videos:
7 ways to earn money from youtube
- Advertising
Once you sign up for the Youtube partner program, aka Google AdSense for video content, ads start appearing within your Youtube videos. To earn money though, people have to view the videos.
Although pay varies by your audience type and country, on an average you will earn $1 – $2 per 1000 views.
- Affiliate marketing
Another way you can earn money from Youtube is by inserting affiliate links either in the videos or on the video description.
When viewers click on the link and buy, you make money in the form of affiliate commissions.
You can start with for Amazon / Flipkart affiliate program or approach brands related to your niche and start linking their products to make money using Youtube.
- Direct promotion (Sponsorship)
The main difference between sponsorship and affiliate marketing is that sponsorships pay a fixed amount of money while affiliate is based on sales made.
- Paid videos
This is whereby you monetize your videos on Youtube by charging your audiences to view them. Works best when you are already established and have a substantial number of followers.
- Donations
You can offer your videos free of charge but then request viewers for donations through services such as instamojo.
- Direct sell your products
Another monetization model that works best when you are already established and have a substantial number of followers.
- Leads for your website
This is whereby you use your videos to lead viewers back to your website in the hope that they purchase your other products.
Manufacture branded candy or sweets
Create a website and sell through leads to individuals as well as to the big brand companies in Kenya.
Pinterest Marketing
Sign up on Pinterest, get a large following, and get paid by brands to market relevant products to your followers.
Sell handmade items on Etsy
Start selling handmade crafts online. Popular items you can start with include Maasai jewelry, handcrafted leather sandals, woven sisal baskets, hand tied fishing flies, etc, which you can source from Maasai Market or Kariokor Market.
Take Photos
If you like taking pictures, there are a lot of opportunities for you to make money online in Kenya such as:
- You could start by listing your services on Olx.
- License your photos online on websites such as ShutterStock, SmugMug, iStockPhoto, Alamy, Fotolia, Flickr, Getty imagesetc.
- Sell your photographs online through platforms such as ImageKind.
Online teaching or coaching
Is there any subject matter or topic that friends and relatives constantly come to you for advise? You could make money with your knowledge.
Create PDF lesson plans of subject you’re already familiar with, publish, and sell them online.
Here are 15 Platforms to Publish and Sell Online Courses:
pricing starts at $24.95 per month plus 10% of sales.
Instructors earn money through revenue sharing (70% goes to teachers), tips, and “referral bounties.” Details available at the Teacher Payment page.
Mostly tech oriented, though there is also a marketing and finance category. Revenue share is about 20%.
Instructors earn 50% of the revenue on all courses sold.
Market leading revenue share commercials plus potential to earn £1,000’s in passive income every month
You keep 60% of any sales you make through its platform.
Once you have enrolled more than 25 learners in a class, you become eligible for participation in Skillshare’s Partner Program and can earn money through the royalty pool managed by the company – usually $1-2 per enrollment, according to the company.
Once you are a partner, you’ll also get compensated for new Premium Members ($10 per) you introduce to Skillshare through your Teacher Referral link.
According to the Skillshare site “Top teachers make up to $40,000 a year.”
You either use the platform for free and pay $1 + 10% for all transactions. Or, you can choose to pay a monthly fee, which eliminates the $1 per transaction fees and also reduces the percentage paid to Teachable based on what level of monthly fee you choose.
- Ruzuku
I suggest you sign up for Ruzuku’s free trial today to get a feel of the platform’s features.
Like Teachable above, you either sign up for Thinkfic on the $0 starter plan (and pay 10% commission on your sales). Or sign up for a monthly plan and zero transaction fees. Definitely worth checking out.
Udemy is free for teachers. If Udemy sells your course, you keep you keep 50% of the sale. If you make the sale, you keep 97% of the sale.
Rent out an extra room in your house
Do you have an extra room or second house that is currently unoccupied?
If you answered yes, you’re sitting on a potential gold mine.
Instead of keeping that extra room in your house locked, you can rent it out for some money. Here are some platforms to get you started:
Write a book and publish on amazon
Just like blogging above, the opportunities are endless as to what topics to write about or how much you can make online.
Show visitors around your city or county
Every county in Kenya has some tourist attractions, some more, others less. With you local knowledge you can make money exploring hidden and iconic neighborhoods with visitors..
The goal should be to provide cultural enrichment, education and a good time. You can offer experiences in any of the following areas: in art, fashion, design, eating, drinking, architecture, history, outdoors or any other cultural experience that tells a unique story about Kenya or the particular city or county.
Ideas include: Nairobi night film and/or photography classes e.g. in Kibera, , art walks, city walks, culture walks, showcase Kenya’s tech scene, flower/coffee/tea farm tours in Kenya, Kenya food tours, Nairobi flea markets guided tour, Nairobi meet and greet neighborhood tour, live local Kenyan gospel brunch tours etc .
If you know your county well, sign up to offer experience tours with these online platforms:
A platform that helps businesses and individuals gather and validate information anytime, anywhere
Information is all over the place. Trust on the other hand is not easy to come by. Technology has made the world a global village. But this comes with inherent risks.
With your app, or platform, businesses and individuals can leverage on-demand workforce to gather and validate information anytime, anywhere in Kenya. The value to the customer? Increased knowledge. Reduced risk. Everyone is happy.
Some of your potential customers include:
- Insurance companies wanting to the truth about damage reported in claims, retrieve documents, deliver documents, notarize documents, inspect scenes, and locate salvaged items, fast.
- Financial services providers wanting to validate and to verify collateral in one location while gathering and chasing down documents in another.
- Auto and/or transport dealers wanting to gather images and information on multiple vehicles they’re wholesaling, in different locations; and need a 3rd party to verify the conditions of transports at their origins and again at their destinations.
- Businesses operating in more than location e.g. chain of restaurants, hotels, or other retail business needing to enforce brand standards to auditing specific technical details and manage risk.
- Individual Kenyans in the diaspora building back home or who have bought houses and need to audit the condition of the apartment or progress of the construction. Plus whose who need an eye on the ground for potential sites for new opportunities.
- Individuals based in and/or out of Kenya who have made substantial online purchases e.g. on Olx, etc, and want to confirm that the item on the pictures really is the same thing on the ground. Tehey could also need to confirm that the seller has the required paperwork, the keys, and any other required assets.
- Tourists coming into Kenya wanting to confirm that their vacation rental is actually as nice as it looks online — before they commit.
Make money on Facebook
Below I share the most common ways you can make money with Facebook.
- By creating a niche-based Facebook group
Once the group reaches a substantial number of membership, you sell the admin rights to people who want to promote or market their products/services. You can also partner with brands to promote their products to the group.
- Sell products directly on Facebook
Either your own Facebook page, group Facebook pages, or various Facebook marketplaces.
- Promote brands your Facebook Page as an Influencer
This works best when you’ve got substantial followers on your page.
- Through Facebook Instant Articles
In this case, you make money with Facebook’s Audience Network by writing Instant Articles. These are those articles that you usually see in your news feed. Instant Articles load up to 10 times faster than the mobile web.
Make sure that your site follows Instant Articles policies, including their monetisation content guidelines. Avoid common article formatting errors before submitting sample articles.
You must be approved before you can start publishing Instant Articles. Please submit a sample group of articles. Make sure to create at least 10 articles in your production library before submitting for review.
These articles have sponsored ads by facebook’s version of Google Adsense) and it works just the way as Google Adsense. Minimum payout is 100$.
- Become a Facebook Marketing consultant
Instead of wasting time liking cat videos on Facebook use that time learning the ins and outs of Facebook. You can then charge businesses a few to push their brands on Facebook.
Make money using Instagram
If you have a substantial number of engaged audiences on Instagram, use your social capital to make money in any one of the following ways:
- Promote brands on your Instagram page and charge per post, per like, or per comment.
- Promote and then sell your photos via Instagram.
- Showcase photos of your business on Instagram to entice buyers to buy from you. Folks with Pens is a perfect example. They promote their African baskets on Instagram and then lead followers to their Etsy page where they make purchase.
Make money on Twitter
Again, like Instagram and Facebook, you need a substantial number of engaged followers to make money on Twitter. You can use any of the following monetization models:
- Host Influencer campaigns and charge brands based on traffic numbers and the niche.
- Find leads for your own products and/or services
- Partner with brands to hold a twitter contests then keep a percentage of the sales as commission.
- Use Twittad to make money on Twitter
Twittad is one of the very few initiators of sponsored tweeting services in the world of internet. You select your interests in terms of business categories or marketing niche and proceed to create an ad campaign. You are then notified by email when the campaign becomes ready for launching. Once the campaign gets started, you can start sending tweets as per requirement of the campaign i.e. one tweet per day or 2 tweets per 3 days etc.
Youcan request for payment only after you have earned $30 in the account and the payment is done via Paypal.
Make earn money on Whatsapp
According to a February 2018Bloggers Association of Kenya research, about 12 million Kenyans access WhatsApp through their phones every month.
This is a huge opportunity through which to make money.
However, you must have a huge contact list to easily make money on Whatsapp. Through your various Whatsapp groups, instead of forwarding fake news, use your bundles to make money through the following methods:
- Make Money Sharing Your Skills on WhatsApp
Share a digital business card highlighting your skills so that when people need those services they can approach you.
- Paid URL Shorteners/Pay Per 1,000 Clicks
Share monetised links (with the help of the URL shorteners) on your various WhatsApp groups and earn money by getting paid for every person that views your links.
Don’t just share anything you find, look for interesting articles that could add value to your contacts.
Here is a list of some URL Shortener Websites you can start off with:
Each 1,000 times the links are clicked you will earn some money depending on the country where the link is being opened. WhatsApp contacts. USA and UK based contacts will earn you more money because of higher CPC (cost per click) costs. So try and target your contacts from those countries.
Once you hit a certain threshold limit, you can transfer the money to your account.
- Share affiliate links with your Whatsapp contacts
Share an Amazon url link of a product people in your contact list would use. Every time someone shops on Amazon or whichever site by clicking on your link, you will earn a referral commission.
- Sell your products in Whatsapp groups
Leverage your Whatsapp contacts to sell your products of your interest.
A Kenyan membership-based grocery marketplace
This marketplace’s local network of reliable shoppers connects members to fresh groceries and everyday household essentials
A Kenyan membership-free bulk delivery service
Offer direct delivery of bulk-sized packages for household essentials such as groceries, household products, and health supplies, etc, via an app or website.
Help career moms pack and ship their pumped breast milk when away from their babies
Your service would alleviate the logistical challenges involved in breastfeeding and business travel for working moms by giving them everything that they need to easily — in the simplest possible way — overnight their milk home to their young ones.
Yelp for Disability Friendly places in Kenya
Find disability-friendly places and services (malls, restaurants, hotels, hospitals, etc.), make appointments and request quotes for services and rate them.
Subscription Box Business in Kenya
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Date night idea subscription
People pay a monthly subscription for which they receive a curated and prepaid date night idea every month.
The idea is to give people no hassle-no added cost ideas for what to do in their area. The customer pays monthly and gets a post card/invitation/box, the customer gives that as their payment to the merchant, the merchant redeems those with you for their payment. The real profit would come from a special discount code that the merchant gives you. You mark it up for a margin, and the customer pays a premium for your convenient and creative service. This way, the merchant gets new business, the customer gets a fun date, and you get the monthly subscription fee.
To succeed, you’ll need to have enough unique ideas and then scale it up.
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Monthly ethnic dish ingredients subscription
People pay monthly subscription fee for which they receive mystery parcels (with ingredients) that will teach you how to cook a totally foreign dish!
Did I miss anything?
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