Have you been researching online to figure out how to make money in Kenya? With so much information out there, it can be overwhelming to decide the best way to make money online. In this article, we will discuss some of the most popular ways Kenyans make money online so that you can choose what is best for you.
Here are the top ways to make money online in Kenya:
- Blogging
- Freelancing
- Cryptocurrency & forex trading
- Vlogging
- Web design & development
- eCommerce business
- Affiliate marketing
- Digital Consultancy
- Starting a Startup
- Gaming
How to make money online in Kenya
Let’s get into the details of making money online in Kenya in 2024.
1. Blogging
Blogging is one of Kenya’s easiest and quickest ways to make money online. You can blog on any niche or topic area you are passionate about, which means there’s a lot more opportunity to make it online in Kenya than most people realize!
How to earn money online in Kenya by blogging
- Selling advertising space on your blog through platforms such as Google Adsense.
- Promoting other products or services through affiliate marketing.
- Please create your product, such as an e-book or physical product, and sell it through your blog.
- Accept sponsored, and blog posts from other companies; companies looking to promote something will pay you for every visitor who clicks on their ad or reads your post.
Keep in mind – Blogging as an income stream takes time to build up, but once you hit your stride, it can provide you with a consistent, substantial monthly income.
Here is a fantastic article on starting a blog in Kenya; please make sure you read it if you are interested in making money online in Kenya through blogging.
2. Freelancing
Many Kenyans earn money online in Kenya through Freelancing. Freelancers are self-employed contractors who offer services to companies or individuals. Freelance work can be from writing, designing, and coding to video production/editing. Freelancing is a great way to make money online in Kenya if you have the skills or expertise for a specific job.
Freelancers are also called contractors (because they work as independent contractors for their clients) or consultants (who provide short-term jobs). Freelancers can work full-time or part-time as they choose.
Freelancing websites like Upwork, Guru, and Freelancer provide freelance work to freelancers worldwide. Freelancers can also get jobs from clients through word of mouth or recommendations. Freelancing is an excellent way to make money online in Kenya without a high startup cost or risk.
Here are some of the most common freelancing jobs in Kenya:
- Article writing
- Transcription
- Academic writing
- Web design and development
- Graphics design
- Video captioning
- Virtual Assistance
Where to get Freelancing jobs in Kenya:
As I mentioned, the following websites offer freelancing jobs to Kenyans:
- Upwork
- Freelancer
- Guru
You can earn online in Kenya from freelancing by signing up on these websites and bidding on projects. If the client picks your proposal, you work on the task and submit it. The client pays the freelancing website, which in turn pays you.
3. Cryptocurrency trading
Cryptocurrency Trading is a form of investment that many Kenyans use to make money online in Kenya.
How do you make money from Cryptocurrency?
You make money online in Kenya from Cryptocurrency Trading by purchasing Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether (popular among Kenyan Cryptocurrency investors) and holding them for the long run.
Cryptocurrencies are a “let-me-till-I-earn” investment that takes time and effort before they become profitable. You can’t just buy Cryptocurrency today and expect to make money online in Kenya tomorrow. Cryptocurrency trading is a high-risk/high-reward kind of investment. Cryptocurrencies can increase in value over a brief period, but Cryptocurrency prices are also volatile and can crash overnight.
4. Make money online in Kenya by Vlogging
Vlogging is a fun and profitable way of making money online. In Kenya, Vlogging stands for video blogging. They create videos and share them with an audience.
Vloggers can make money from Vlogging in many ways:
- They get paid when someone watches their YouTube videos or clicks on ads that appear in their videos.
- They can also collaborate with brands to promote products through sponsored content/videos on their Youtube channel.
- Some Vloggers have a membership site where they give extra content to their fans for a monthly fee (this is also called building your email list).
- Others sell digital courses by offering specialized courses such as making money online in Kenya.
5. Running a digital agency
Another great and profitable way of making money online in Kenya is the Digital Agency business.
Digital agencies provide services to clients such as:
- Developing websites (WordPress, Joomla, etc.)
- Designing digital marketing campaigns
- Hosting and maintaining a website
- Building an app Developing online marketing strategies
- Social media marketing (SMM), Search Engine Marketing (SEM), and Pay per Click (PPC).
The digital marketing agency business gives you the best of both worlds. You can work from home and manage your own time while also making much money.
This kind of business is perfect for those who:
- They would love to spend their days working on creative digital projects
- Have an interest in online marketing and social media
- Have a high level of expertise in WordPress, mobile development, or any other technology.
- Having technical skills that would help build their digital agency’s product
- Having enough investment capital to start a Digital agency, are willing to work hard and sacrifice for their dream
6. eCommerce business
eCommerce business is the most profitable online business in Kenya. eCommerce stands for electronic commerce, a business conducted over the internet.
What does an eCommerce business look like?
An eCommerce store (also known as an Online Store or Website) sells products through online payment systems such as PayPal and credit cards.
Popular products sold online include: Apparel & Fashion, Clothing,, Electronics, Books, Movies Music, Baby Products, Home & Garden, Jewellery Software. Wholesale Online Stores sell to anyone; they don’t care about where you live.
The internet provides a worldwide marketplace where you can sell your products to millions of people worldwide who speak different languages and come from various cultural backgrounds; challenges faced by traditional retailers do not apply to eCommerce businesses.
How does an eCommerce business make money?
eCommerce business makes money in several ways:
- eCommerce stores can sell products directly by using online payment systems such as PayPal and credit cards. When a customer purchases an item from your store, you pay a transaction fee to the popular payment system (PayPal or credit card) or the bank that issued you your merchant account.
- You can also earn commissions when someone clicks on a link that takes them from your site to another website where they purchase. This is called affiliate marketing; the person who refers customers to the other side gets paid when their visitors make purchases.
7. Starting a Startup
Starting a startup in Kenya is risky because the market is still young, and you need more money.
Startup founders are optimistic, ambitious, and creative. Startups that succeed look for solutions to real problems; they try out different things until they find one that works.
Even if your idea isn’t original, there’s always room for improvement. If it isn’t working — try fixing it!
Startups create value by providing users with unique products or services that fill their needs. Often, startups offer solutions to problems the customer doesn’t even realize exist. When this happens, you’ve succeeded at building something of great value.
Good startup ideas come from work, school, home, the gym, and anywhere!
You can make money online with a startup if you:
- Have a startup idea that would solve real problems for people
- Can develop the idea into a business plan. Have the skills to build or buy the product
- Can find other users who could benefit from your service
- They are willing to make sacrifices and work hard at it.
Every successful entrepreneur in Kenya started as an ordinary person. Having no startup experience doesn’t mean you can’t be one — give yourself time to learn and adapt.
8. Forex trading
Forex trading is buying and selling foreign currencies on the foreign exchange market (forex, FX, or currency market) for profit. In other words, it is the benchmark global currency trading, and all other trades are measured against it.
People involved in forex trading have acquired skills that enable them to analyze the price movement of currencies in relation to each other based on supply, demand, and political dynamics. This way, they can determine when exchange rates will increase or decrease and use this information to profit.
Forex trading can be done quickly, like hours and days. Still, most forex traders prefer long-term trades in weeks, months, or years, which allows them to build a large amount of capital through compound interest over time.
9. Sell on online marketplaces
You might think of this as eCommerce, but I choose to look at it differently. Here, you utilize the online marketplace platform to sell your products at a fixed or negotiated price with the buyer.
Things you can sell on online marketplaces and make money online in Kenya include:
- Sell Products on Jumia, Amazon, or Etsy.
- Services such as joining uber, bolt, etc., to drive people around and make money.
- Rent your house or apartment on Airbnb.
The list is endless; all you need is determination and consistency.
10. Become a Digital Influencer and make money online in Kenya
Digital influencers have created a strong presence on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter on social media platforms. This can either be through their website or someone else platform, where they share content about anything trending in the online world.
The digital influencer could be an authority in their area, such as; cooking, cars, photography, or someone who has a large following on social media. Their content can influence many people.
The digital influencer is paid by brands to post about their products or services and thus promote them. This is called an endorsement. The digital influencer also gets paid when people follow them or their website. As the digital influencer grows and his following increases, he will command higher fees for endorsements.
The digital influencers’ audience is usually small initially, but they can grow exponentially if they build relationships. As the relationship matures, they could promote products from almost any brand or service if the offer is lucrative. Brands could also sponsor them to attend events to meet other digital influencers and build stronger relationships with their newfound peers.
A digital influencer can eventually reach a point of becoming an authority in his niche because his following keeps growing as people share or retweet what he has to say. Digital influencers can earn a decent income online by getting endorsed and sponsored. Still, they need to be consistent so that their audience does not lose interest in them.
I hope this article motivates you to go after your dream, and make money online in Kenya but don’t forget where you came from, and stay humble.
