Let us have an open and candid conversation about how to make money in Nairobi.

I am using Nairobi because I am Kenyan and it is our capital, but most of this applies to any big African city. Lagos, Kampala, Lusaka, Johannesburg. If you are thinking of moving to the city to earn, this is for you.

And I will start with the thing people least want to hear.

It is not about the quick ways

Making money in Nairobi is not about the quick and easy methods young people keep being sold.

We fall for forex scams, binary options, multi level marketing and pyramid schemes, because we believe Nairobi is full of money and there must be a shortcut to it.

The money is not in the city. The money is with people who are valuable, people who solve problems, get paid for it, and keep getting paid because they keep solving them.

How the “trading” scam actually works

Let me walk you through one, because once you see the mechanics you cannot unsee them.

Somebody tells you they will teach you to make money fast. Around 5,000 to 10,000 shillings every single day. You multiply by 30 and you are already spending it in your head.

Then they tell you the training costs 48,000 shillings.

You pay. They direct you to a website. On day 1 your account shows 3,000. On day 2 it shows 10,000. You are excited.

Around day 4 or 5 you try to withdraw, and now there is a process. Verification. Documents. More steps.

What you have forgotten is that the money you are being “paid” is your own money. Maybe you get 20,000 back. The other 28,000 is gone, and so is the person.

Nobody who has a method that makes 10,000 a day needs your 48,000.

You get paid for solving a problem

That is the whole rule, so let me show you what it looks like in practice, starting with products and then services, which is where I work.

Selling products: you do not need to own what you sell

A lot of the people selling cars and laptops in Nairobi do not own the stock. They are brokers. What they are good at is marketing and talking to people.

Laptops. Say a good new laptop costs 180,000 shillings at the shop. You have an arrangement with the dealer. You talk about the laptop online, somebody in Westlands wants one, you deliver it, they pay 192,000, and you take home around 10,000.

Sell one every 2 or 3 days and do the arithmetic.

Cars. Same model. The seller films cars at the yard, posts them on his status and on TikTok, and when a buyer is interested he takes them to the yard. If they buy, he earns a commission of 1 to 5 percent. Real estate works the same way.

Two conditions make this honest work rather than a problem waiting to happen.

Be open that you are a broker, and have a real agreement with the owner of the stock. And never take a customer’s money for something you cannot put in their hands.

Because here is the thing about this city. Trust is a currency in Nairobi. People buy from the person they trust, and nobody deals with you twice if you burn them once.

Selling services: where skills come in

Everybody comes to Nairobi hoping for a job. I have to be honest with you. Nairobi is not favourable for that today, and you will cry some premium tears if a job is your only plan.

What Nairobi pays is people who can do things.

Start with the simplest example, errands. A lawyer needs documents taken to Upper Hill, signed, stamped and brought back. Somebody charges 1,500 shillings for that. Do 4 or 5 a day and that is 6,000 to 7,500 shillings. No product sold. Just a service somebody needed.

So the principle is this. You make money by providing a service that either solves somebody’s problem or helps them make more money.

The real employers are small businesses

Understand who actually has work for you.

It is not the big names. Micro, small and medium businesses employ far more people in this country than the large corporates do. The shop, the gym, the salon, the driving school, the hardware.

So picture one small shop in town that sells content creation equipment. Ring lights, microphones, cameras. Here is everything that one business needs, and what each thing is worth.

1. Posters and graphics

Somebody who can open Canva and produce clean graphics for their Instagram.

You can charge 500 to 1,000 shillings per design. If the owner wants 10 to 15 a week, that is 5,000 to 10,000 shillings a week from one client. Get 2 such clients and you are at 10,000 to 20,000 a week.

2. Video

Every business now accepts that video is the most consumed type of content. They want to look good on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, and they do not know how.

You took a course on videography and editing. The owner says come on Tuesday and shoot 10 short clips for my pages. You agree a package of 10,000 to 20,000 shillings, spend about 6 hours at the business, edit, and send the clips.

3. Social media management

Now go one level up. You are not just making content, you are running the accounts.

You bring the strategy. What content to create, how to shoot it, when to post. You schedule everything through a tool like Metricool so one upload goes to every platform. You reply to comments and messages, so when somebody asks about a camera, you answer with the price and how to get it.

Your job is to make sure the business is visible and that people trust it.

That is worth 25,000 to 60,000 shillings a month, depending on what is included.

4. Digital marketing

From there you grow into digital marketing, which I explain in 3 words. Reach, response, revenue.

Reach: we create content and it gets to people. Response: they comment or send a message. Revenue: they buy.

A proper digital marketer understands organic and paid content, Google Ads, Meta Ads, TikTok Ads, websites, search, tracking, and how to connect all of it. There is a real shortage of people in Nairobi who can do this professionally, which is why a funded startup will pay somebody like that 250,000 shillings a month. Without that person, nobody knows the business exists.

One caution. Everybody is now calling themselves a consultant, and often it is a way of avoiding the actual work. The business owner pays, hears a lot of talk, and nothing changes. Do the work. Be the person whose results can be seen.

5. Websites

Most businesses that start today want a website, even construction companies.

When I build one, the client is not looking for something fancy. They want sales. A gym wants a page that people land on when they click an ad, see the information, and sign up.

So before you build anything, ask the client why they need the website. Sometimes they do not need 20 pages. If a single page will bring them customers, build that and charge around 40,000 shillings for it.

You can learn to build with tools like Lovable or WordPress. For hosting I use hosting.com, which recently moved into Kenya. That is an affiliate link, so I earn a commission if you buy through it, at no extra cost to you.

And more

Setting up Google Business Profiles so a business shows on Google Maps, which you can charge about 10,000 shillings for. Helping businesses choose and use AI tools. Simple automations.

All of that from one small shop. Now count how many small businesses you walk past in a day.

Learn the skill, then let people know

Two things have to happen, in this order.

Learn the skills. Whatever simple thing you start with, learn it properly. The skill is the most important part of everything above.

Then make it known. Nobody hires somebody they have never heard of. If you are good at digital marketing and nobody knows, you are unemployed with extra steps.

Talk about what you can do. Put it on TikTok. I have been posting the same message since I started, and that is where my clients come from. Sitting at home saying there are no opportunities is not a strategy.

Learn to scout opportunity

Be self aware and look around you.

Try different sectors. Look at real estate, marketing, logistics. The more spaces you explore, the more you see.

And look for businesses that are already working but missing something. If you notice a town full of driving schools that nobody can find online, that is your opportunity. If the businesses around you have no Google Business Profile, go and set them up.

I do this myself. I walk around, I notice what businesses are struggling with, and I start thinking about a solution I could build for them. Use AI tools to help you think it through.

Trust is a currency

I will end on trust, because it decides whether any of this works.

If somebody trusts you, they have no problem paying you. If they do not know you, they hesitate.

People tell me all the time that a client asked for a quote, received it and disappeared. Very often the reason is simply that the client did not trust them yet.

So when that happens, offer to meet. A physical meeting, or a video call if you are far apart. Sit down, have a conversation, let them see who they are dealing with. Agreements get made face to face that never get made over a quote in a message.

That is how to make money in Nairobi. No shortcuts. Find a problem, learn to solve it, make yourself known, and be somebody people can trust.

Start your digital skills journey on Click2Skill

— Elvis W.