Many are the myriad of excuses people give for not starting that side hustle they always dreamed about.
The most common one is that of I don’t have a computer.
Well, I got you covered if you fall into that category.
In this post I share some ways you can make money in the comfort of your couch even if you don’t have a computer or laptop.
What's Covered in This Article
Sell cakes and other baked goods
Can you make a decent cake and decorate it?
With weddings, baby showers, bridal showers, and birthdays the order of the day on most weekends in Kenya, there definitely an opportunity for you to make money selling your baked stuff.
Advertise your services for free on social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, etc.
In-Home Day Care Center
This would be a life saver for many employed mothers in Kenya.
House girls are no longer as reliable as they were in times past. It is not uncommon for your house girl to give you a 2 minute notice that they’re quitting.
You can make money providing quality child care to these employed mothers’ children.
Word of mouth, a simple Facebook page or Whatsapp poster are zero-cost methods for connecting with potential clients.
Selling African handicrafts
This could range from Maasai earrings, Maasai shoes, Kiondos, kikoy fleece blankets, shawls, to beaded leather purses.
You can either make them yourself or buy cheap from Maasai Market or Kariokor and sell at a premium to your customers.
You can then take pictures of the items and list them on using your Smartphone on websites such as Olx, Etsy, Jumia.
Rent a spare room in your house
Do you have extra room in your house?
Sign up on AirBnB, take pictures of the space, list on the site, and start making money without need for a computer or laptop.
Prepare dinner for a stranger
Do you know your way around the kitchen?
Then try your hand at cooking meals and earn money sharing it with others.
Through platforms such as EatWith, you can share your meal with strangers in return for a few shillings.
Rent wedding dresses, decorations, utensils and furniture
With weddings in Kenya happening almost every weekend, many soon to be weds are choosing to rent wedding stuff such as wedding dresses, wedding decorations, etc so that they can save money on their big day.
Take a walk to Gikomba Market and you will find designer wedding gowns for as little as KES 3,000. Launder and iron them well, and you’re good to go. Just make sure to be there by 7am latest to find camera gowns.
Contact me if you need help with getting this started. I have a seller friend who opens bales of wedding gowns in Gikomba.
Rent photo booths
You can rent out photo booths for events such as weddings, birthday parties, bridal showers, baby showers, etc and make some money without needing a computer.
Head over to River Road and have the booths made for you at affordable prices.
I am in this business and I can assure you there’s money to be made.
Enter contests and giveaways
There are so many contests and giveaways that you can participate in without needing a computer.
Check out this link on my website where I constantly update travel related contests, travel competitions, and travel giveaways that Kenyans can participate in.
Take photos of people, places, and things in Kenya
A gap I have spotted in most stock photography sites is the lack of beautiful, high-quality, high-resolution #wanderlust-worthy stock photos of black and/or brown people.
Or even just photos of them random normal everyday stuff like working on a laptop, taking a stroll along Kenyatta Avenue, waiting to catch a bus at Kencom or even licking an ice cream cone at Uhuru Park.
No random Adhis and Otis holding hands. No groups of buddies in jeans and a t-shirt chillin’ at a random spot in Kilimani — and definitely no pictures of a group of black Kenyan kids just giggling.
If you’re lucky you’ll only find a bunch of kids in a slum area or a starving kids from a 1900 drought that hit northern Kenya.
If you think I’m kidding, try Googling something as specific as “Kenyan male” and see if you will end up with anything other than the quintessential Maasai in a red shuka.
This is despite the fact that Maasais make up just about 1% of the entire Kenyan population.
Of course free Stock photo sites such as Unsplash, etc have a few options but #issa struggle finding beautiful, high-quality, high-resolution images of black people.
You have to scroll endlessly before you actually bump onto a representative image.
With an eye for photography, a simple DSLR camera or smartphone with a high quality camera, you could make money online by addressing this need for diversity by taking photos of people, places, and things in Kenya and selling them online on stock photography sites.
Some platforms where you can post your high-quality, high resolution authentic images of black people and brown people include:
- Colorstock. Royalty-free image licenses here cost $20 a pop or can be retired for $250 so no one can use it but purchaser.
- CreateHER Stock has categories for both paid and free images “curated for female bloggers, creatives and online influencers of color.”
- Nappy.co though entirely free, by displaying your work to a larger audience you get visibility and may land freelance work as a result of companies discovering you photography via your profile.
- ECH — Free stock photos of women of color in tech.
- MochaStock — A stock photos marketplace geared specifically to provide editorial-ready, diverse images and video.
- Unsplash — Free site as well but the visibility you get may be worth it.
This is another work from home job you can do in Kenya even if you don’t have a computer or laptop.
Once you’ve taken the pictures, you simply upload then online your smartphone after buying a few internet bundles.
I highly recommend Airtel Unliminet if you don’t have access to WiFi.
Sell Fish
Go to Gikomba, identify a reliable vendor who can sell to you Tilapia from Lake Victoria at wholesale price.
Through word of mouth, Whatsapp, or Facebook, let your network know that you are supplying fish.
You can actually attract more buyers by deep-frying the fish for them.
Teach a skill
Is there something that is so obvious to you but other people struggle with?
This could include side hustling, working from home, remote work, a musical instrument, personal branding, blogging, etc.
Why not teach others in return for pay?
Respond to Surveys
Check out this post here for a list of surveys that Kenyans can participate in.
Sign up and take up the surveys right from the comfort of your smartphone.
Guide tours
How well do you know your county or city?
If well enough, its probably time you made money leading tours.
A good place to start is by signing up to host an AirBnB Experience in Nairobi or whatever other place in Kenya you’re familiar with, through this link.
Become an Uber driver
Driving others around Nairobi is a great way to make money in Kenya without needing a computer.
Click here to join Uber as a Driver and start making money today.
Deliver Food
Do you have a car, motorbike or scooter and also some extra time on your hands?
Well, you can make money by delivering orders that people place with Uber Eats in Kenya – All while working on your terms.
Click her to sign up and start earning money with Uber Eats in Kenya.
Sell items on OLX
OLX can be a great way to sell stuff and earn a higher value for them.
I personally have flipped land, sold peanut butter, mtush backpacks, and many other things via OLX.
In most instances, you will eventually have to meet up with the buyer, so, always mind your safety. I always meet up in a public place e.g. at Huduma Center, or the Bata at Hilton. Find a place that works for you.
Help People File KRA Returns
Though this is a seasonal one, it could add up in the long run.
Start marketing yourself early in the year so that by the time the KRA deadline of June 30 hits, you’ve made significant amounts.
Word of mouth marketing and a simple Facebook post in your networks is enough to get you started.
Refer Your Friends
This is one of the easiest ways to make money from home without a computer.
Simply tell your friends about all the cool stuff you love to use and get paid for referring them.
For example, I usually refer my friends to sign up for AirBnB, Uber, Booking.com, etc, and we both get paid so its a win win for us all.
Write Slogans
Do you have a way with words?
Writing slogans is one way to work from home or make money online even if you don’t have a computer or laptop.
Tasks include coming up with travel blog names, naming new online shopping websites, writing a tag line/slogan,etc.
Simply enter your ideas on any one of these slogan contest platforms:
- Slogan Slingers. Bidders make up to $999 per contest (minus their small admin fee) and your prize money is sent to you via Paypal within 24 to 48 hours.
- Naming Force also hosts contests to name new companies or websites. Once you’ve registered, you can enter as many contests as you like.
- Freelancer.com bid for a gig on the slogans section.
You can also take advantage of Google by simply entering “slogan contest” plus year to see what comes up.
If your slogan for a company or product beats the competition, you could get $50 — or a few hundred dollars — for some contests.
You could also consider branching out and entering submissions for greeting card sayings.
Make YouTube Videos
Just like making money online by selling photographs, another work from home job you can do in Kenya if you don’t have a computer is making YouTube videos.
Use your smartphone or a simple DSLR camera to shoot the videos.
With YouTube videos, you make money only once you start getting decent viewership of your videos.
The key therefore is to ensure that the videos you upload are useful, and/or entertaining because this is the only way you can draw in an audience and get paid.
With an average pay of just over $6 per 1,000 YouTube views, it adds up over time as you put up more videos.
While working on your audience numbers, you can also join affiliate programs related to your YouTube channel and make money through affiliate links embedded in your video descriptions.
Buy and Sell Domain Names
Are you one those guys who just have it with words?
Well, another way to make money online without a computer or laptop is by making up hashtags, catchphrases or business names that you think could be the next big thing in the future.
You then scoop up cheap domain names from companies such as Bluehost, register them, and then re-sell them to the highest bidder on sites like Flippa.
Try and snag dot .com URLS as a priority.
You can also buy existing domains and then re-sell them. This is something you can do on your phone even when stuck in a traffic jam.
Claim Missing Money
This is not a work from home job in Kenya per se, but it’s one of the ways you can make money online in Kenya even if you don’t have a laptop or computer.
In this case you check if by any chance there’s some money owed to you by the Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority (UFAA).
Apparently,The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) through UFAA has about has Kshs. 3.3 billion in unclaimed funds belonging to about two million Kenyans.
Unaeza kuwa unahangaika hapa and yet you could be smiling all the way to the bank.
To claim, simply log onto the The Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority (UFAA)website.
On the top left corner, enter your name and click on search.
A new tab will open with your name if there are unclaimed funds belonging to you.
You can also search names of people known to you and advise them in case they have unclaimed funds.
Join a Class-Action Lawsuit
A class action lawsuit basically is whereby one person – the plaintiff, sues another – a defendant or a several defendants, on behalf of a group, or class, of absent parties.
Case in point is in early 2018 when Lawyer Apollo Mboya and the Electricity Consumer Society of Kenya filed a class action suit against Kenya Power and Lighting Company for abusing its monopoly by inflating power bills.
Or in mid June 2018 when Okiya Omtata sued the government of Kenya over new tax proposals.
So how do you make money in Kenya from class action suits?
Well, If you use a product or service that’s involved in a class-action lawsuit, you could some cash payout.
I remember for instance in the suit against Kenya Power and Lighting Company, so many of my acquaintances benefited from cash refunds on exaggerated electricity bills.
I personally have a spreadsheet that I regularly update with any class action suit that has arisen in Kenya.
I also follow through regularly on the verdicts of the suits to make sure I’m not missing a chance to get paid!
A good place to start is by Googling ‘Okiya Omtatah class action suit + year’.
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