Have you ever wondered why some people start selling things online and become very successful?
Is there a secret formula that everyone else has but you don’t?
In this article, I will give you the strategy.
(Hint: it is all about storytelling).
If you forget everything else in this article, just remember that as a small business, you need to tell authentic, relatable, and legitimate stories.
I know this is true because I have helped a large number of businesses create digital strategies that have won them thousands of customers.
“Begin at story-telling to avoid owning the same business as a million other people like you.“
Pesa Skills
Before we get into storytelling strategy, let me first guide you through some of the concerns people have about online businesses.
What You Need to Know About Online Business in Kenya
To make it easy for you, I searched online and summarized a few common questions about starting an online business in Kenya.
The first question is on legitimacy.
Legitimate Ways to Make Money Online in Kenya
A question that was asked a lot of times in investment forums is how to make a consistent income online in a legitimate way.
My opinion here is that making a legitimate income online takes time and effort.
The reason people fall for scams is believing that you can make quick money online with little to no effort. This is not true. Just like offline businesses, you need to be patient and learn the ropes before the money comes.
“The reason people fall for scams is believing that you can make quick money online with little to no effort.”
The legitimate options will therefore not promise you overnight success.
Some of the opportunities that I cover in this article will take more than a year to become stable sources of income. Again, they need patience and consistency.
One area I advise new entrepreneurs to be careful about is investing large amounts in a business they do not know about. An example is one of the clients we helped rebuild her business after she lost over 1.5m of initial capital by investing in a physical shop in town selling men’s clothing. She did not know anything about that business and went into losses from the first month!
Also, you need to know that any business can be corrupted by scammers!
You have to do your due diligence!
Before trying out something, find an advisor who is well-known or who you personally know to help you navigate the choices.
And, whether you are doing small or big deals, get a lawyer involved!
Moving on, another common question was about the best business to do.
The Most Profitable Online Business in Kenya
Anyone planning to invest or earn from an online business in Kenya – and globally – will have this question in mind, “how much profit will I make?”
To find the answer to this question, I had to ask actual business people about the profits they made each month and I got very interesting responses.
I have summarized them in the table below.
But overall, the answers showed that creating content on YouTube was among the most profitable investments. Think of channels run by Abel Mutua, Carnversations, Over 25, Bahati, Kaby Wa Jesus, Eve Mungai, and the rest. They may not seem like it but these are investments, they are small businesses.
There is already evidence of how much you can make on YouTube in Kenya.
“Creating content on YouTube seems to be the most profitable online business as of now”.
Pesa Skills
Anyway, while this is true for now, the answer here will keep changing because we have seen a lot of investment opportunities start out very profitably but as soon as people discover them, they flood the market and the profits reduce drastically.
The same thing happened to the quail egg business.
So, as I said, I asked business owners how much they made. Specifically, I did a survey of about 46 online entrepreneurs to get an accurate range of average earnings.
The table below shows the summary.
*Please know that this table is a summary of actual earnings from people doing these different types of business. Out of the 46 people I interviewed, the businesses on the table were the most profitable.
| Online Business | Average Profits per month (in Kshs.) | The difficulty level in day-to-day operations | Skills Required | Can it be easily scaled? (Growth potential) | Capital Needed to Start (in Kshs.) |
| Selling kitchenware on Jumia | 290,000 | Hard | Sales | Yes | 1,000,000 |
| Selling electronic and household items on Jiji | 109,500 | Hard | Sales, Negotiation | No | 400,000 |
| Freelancing on Fiverr and Upwork (coding and writing) | 187,000 | Moderate | Coding, Writing, Pitching | Yes | None |
| Selling cosmetic products on Facebook | 56,000 | Moderate | Sales, Social Media Management | Yes | 150,000 |
| Content Creation on YouTube | 329,000 | Easy | Content Creation | Yes | 20,000 |
| Content Creation on TikTok | 301,000 | Easy | Content Creation | No | 20,000 |
Businesses That You Can Do Online in Kenya
You can do things based on two main categories, that is, selling products or selling services.
The table below shows the summary.
| Selling Products | Selling Services |
| Dropshipping on Jiji | Coding (websites, apps, etc.) |
| Dropshipping on Jumia | Blogging |
| Dropshipping on Facebook | Content Creation |
| Dropshipping on Instagram | Digital Marketing |
| Dropshipping on WhatsApp | Social Media Management |
| Dropshipping on Telegram | Email marketing |
| Social Media Influencer |
The Businesses That Are in Demand in Kenya
This is a very broad area to address.
However, we narrow down to the general trends in the Kenyan market, there is an ever-increasing demand for online products.
“There is an ever-increasing demand for online products.”
Kenya is considered the 54th largest e-commerce market globally and in 2021 alone, it grew by 44% (that’s a very large growth for one year).
The growth is due to more trust in online shopping as Kenyans have become comfortable with ordering products online rather than visiting physical shops.
New businesses have started showing up to support this model including Notify Logistics which is currently serving as a full-time center for small businesses operating online.
Selling products is mainly focused on the local market. This means both the sellers and buyers are local. This is unlike selling services where most sellers are Kenyans while the buyers are international.
So, as long as you are selling a commonly used item, your online business has the potential to grow.
There is always demand for beauty and cosmetic products (hair, face, and skin), electronics (TVs, Phones, Laptops, Fridges, Iron Boxes, Washing Machines, etc.), fashion and clothing (mainly women’s and babies’ clothes), Shoes (men’s and women’s), and literary materials (Books and stationery e.g., pens, rulers, geometrical sets, and CBC guides). Second-hand (used) books are particularly a very prime business.
Let’s put these in a table for easy visibility.
| Business Category | Areas with demand in Kenya |
| Beauty and cosmetic products | Hair, face, and skin products |
| Electronics | TVs, Phones, Laptops, Fridges, Iron Boxes, Washing Machines, etc. |
| Fashion and clothing | Women’s and babies’ clothes |
| Shoes | Shoes for men and women |
| Literary materials | Books and stationery e.g., pens, rulers, geometrical sets, CBC guides. |
The Fastest-growing Business in Kenya
When we consider all businesses (online and offline) there are five key sectors that have been growing very fast.
These are the agricultural sector, transportation sector, casino sector, real estate and construction, and technology sector.
This growth is also present in SMEs that operate online.
In general, small businesses have become more digitized in the recent past (especially during the pandemic period) than ever before.
The opportunity, therefore, lies in matching your online business with these sectors that are growing very fast.
Some of the small online business ideas for each sector are in the table below.
| Fast Growing Business Sector | Online Small Business Ideas in Kenya |
| Agricultural sector | Online greengrocery Selling farm inputs (e.g., fertilizer and seeds) Selling farm tours and training |
| Transportation and logistics sector | Online food delivery Retail deliveries Fulfillment agents (e.g., Jumia agent, Copia agent, etc.) |
| Casino sector | Gambling and betting websites Affiliate marketing for casinos Selling betting resources and strategies |
| Real estate and construction | Listing websites (e.g., BuyRentKenya) Review videos (e.g., YouTube Channel for house reviews like Mansa Plus) Project Showcase (e.g., YouTube channel covering big constructions like the SGR, Express Way, etc.) Brokerage websites Escrow platforms for land transactions |
| Technology sector | Online tutoring E-commerce websites and social media pages Product review websites Content creation on social media |
Let’s cover one more common question.
This one is from a recent Zoom call, where one lady asked, “How do I make Kshs. 3,000 per day online?”
Now, if you are a follower of this blog, you will realize we have answered that question already. But here is the summary.
A Simple and Legitimate Way to Make Kshs. 3,000 Daily in Kenya
You can make Kshs. 3,000 in Kenya per day easily through a lot of online business options.
A simple way that requires no capital is just to find a shop that sells retail items and do marketing for the items online while adding your commission.
For example, go to Kirinyaga Road (Downtown Nairobi) and find a vehicle spare parts shop that will let you work with them. Convince the owner to let you write down the parts that people commonly look for e.g. Side Mirrors, Car Floor Mats, Wiper Blades, etc.
Take pictures of the actual items and then go list them on Jiji or Pigia Me with good descriptions.
When someone orders a spare part, you can simply call the store owner and have a delivery bike pick it up and drop it to the customer.
This is one proven way of earning.
However, for such a business to thrive in the long term, you need more than just items, you need a good story for your brand.
So, let’s go back to how storytelling can help you grow a small business.
An obvious way of setting up an online business (as I have explained above) is to build an e-commerce store for example and fill it with products or build a Facebook page and list items that you want to push to your followers.
There is nothing inherently wrong with these approaches but they are akin to starting off with a business plan. You will need a lot of luck to get your brand going.
Create Content (Brand Story) for Your Business
A business stands out based on the factors it uses to differentiate itself from others.
It may come as no surprise but these differentiators are becoming fewer over time.
However, a safer bet for differentiation is the age-old human touch also termed story-telling or content creation.
The goal of content creation is to give your business a soul. To make it different from what everyone else is doing online and to differentiate it from offline – brick and mortar – stores.
What comes to mind when you hear Huddah Cosmetics?
Of course, the story of Huddah Monroe, the infamous Kenyan socialite. Do you know why her beauty products command a larger market than some generic brands? It is the content behind the product that her followers find appealing. She sells an image and tells a story. A narrative, whether good or bad by our moral standards, that resonates with a large female audience and hence her products gain a market.
I have used Huddah’s brand because she is overly popular but there are other entrepreneurs doing the same thing as her although not as widely known.
Using beauty products as an example, there are a lot of people selling lipstick and many of the brands they sell are identical. However, the story – content – that the seller tells can be unique.
The same strategy can be seen in Khalif Kairo’s car dealership brand – Kai and Karo.
Instead of just advertising cars, Kairo tells a story of entrepreneurship, resilience, and entertains his audience. His business thus has a soul to it. And, people like such stories.
Content Makes Your Investment Unique from Other Online Investors in Kenya
If you are setting up a Facebook page that sells jewelry, what would you – as a customer – would you like to see differently?
What would you expect such a page to look like?
What would you like to see done differently in the market that you are serving?
Jewelry can be bought from many different Facebook pages but the page we choose is based on small but significant attributes of the brand. These attributes are the story/content behind the brand.
Content highlights things about the brand that help corner customers.
You can tell customers what philosophy your business is based on, what lifestyle you are selling, what part of society you want to change etc.
Tell the Story That Makes Customers Relate to Your Online Business
Your business will stick better with customers when it has a story behind it.
The content you develop therefore helps you build a community of buyers.
You establish a unique brand that attracts staunch followers. You help potential customers easily see how your product is a solution to their problems.
Your stories also open up a way for customers to reach out and tell you what issues they are trying to solve.
A good example is Bonfire Safaris.
The founder, Simon Kabu, is at the center of the storytelling for the brand. Whether intentional or not, the brand grew popular through the relatable story of Kabu and his wife building a travel solution to tour around for cheaper rates.
“the relatable story of Kabu and his wife building a travel solution to tour around for cheaper rate”
Bonfire Safaris, therefore, gained more soul than most of the other travel agencies around with no face to them.
Use Social Media Content to Build a Relationship With Customers
A general rule of thumb is that customers want to pay for products and services from people whom they believe they know and understand.
Content will therefore give you contact with customers.
This contact is via the platform that you use to share content.
Another important attribute of content is that it helps build a relationship with the customers.
This relationship is a powerful tool in selling.
A Wired reporter, Kevin Kelly wrote that it only takes 1,000 true fans (customers in this case) to build a brand and make a living out of it. Creating a relationship is definitely how you build such a follower number.
You also save a lot of time in finding products that fit the market by telling a story.
At the core of content creation is communication and hence conversation. Content will elicit a reaction and the reaction will be a point of conversation with the customer.
The conversation then draws your attention to what the customers want and how you can help them fulfill their needs in a better way.
Growing Your Online Business Depends on the Passion and Authenticity of Your Content
While the primary role of content is to drive business, it also works as a touchpoint between the business and your interests.
Imagine a conversation where you are telling people about the thing that you are interested in the most and enjoy doing.
You could easily go on and on for hours on end.
This is how content creation starts; telling an authentic story that starts with you. The next step becomes building a business on top of your content.
Eventually, this is how passion turns into a sustainable business.
This advice is directed at small-scale online investors but it similarly applies to entrepreneurs who want to start big.
