Investment Opportunities in Nairobi County that You Can Start for as Low as 10,000 Shillings

Nairobi is known all over the world for being a city with a National Park in it. However, there is more to Nairobi County than meets the eye. It is a muscular city with a touch of cosmopolitan charms that range from a ton of investment opportunities, beautiful places to visit, eat, and indulge in an exciting nightlife.

If you are a Nairobian, a Kenyan, or a visitor passing through Nairobi County, you won’t help but notice that the region offers nothing but beautiful ideas for businesses and enterprises. Before  I give you some of the best ideas you can inject your idle cash into, here are notable aspects about Nairobi County that will facilitate your investment opportunities.

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• Population

People in Nairobi are packed. It has the highest population density 6,474 people per square kilometer. The population is growing at 4.1 percent annually. In fact, the growth of the metropolitan area stands at 3.1 percent against the national and global average growth rate of 2.5 percent and 1.2 percent.

You know what this means, right? It means that should you establish a business, you won’t lack clients or customers. We are here, aplenty.

• Infrastructure

The infrastructure in Nairobi is welcoming. Well, apart from a few quibbles in a specific area, the road traversing through the city’s outskirts are paved and with the availability of dual carriageways, moving or transporting things from one place to another is easy. Unless, of course, when it is the rush hour.

People move from one place to another using public transport, personal cars, train (with 15 railway stations within the county and five stations outside in the nearby Kiambu County), and taxi services like Uber, Bolt, and Little Cab to name a few.

The best part of it all is that there are numerous car parks within and outside the city, which means that if you own a car, you won’t lack a place to pack! Wait, a car park is a brilliant business idea, don’t you think?

SEE ALSO: Kiambu County: Nairobi’s Bedroom and Hub for Untapped Investment Opportunities

Nairobi County gets piped water. There are also water vendors and boreholes in various parts that supplement the piped source. The city has the highest water coverage of 81 percent with the metropolitan area standing at 59 percent.

The region receives enough electricity with the City and its surrounding consuming more than 50 percent of the country’s electricity due to its vibrant and lively industries.

Nairobi County’s Metropolitan Area is served by two airports; the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), located along Mombasa Road, with a capacity of 7.5M passengers annually and 43 aircraft, and the Wilson Airport, located along Lang’ata Road, with a capacity of approximately 120,000 passengers and 33 small-scale aircraft.

• Financial Institutions

There are plenty of financial institutions totaling 47 commercial banks, 2 licensed mortgage finance institutions, 8 authorized non-operating bank holding companies and 13 licensed microfinance banks.

You don’t have to worry about where to invest or save your money.

• Communication

Kenya is known for being the M-Pesa country, a mobile money service that was the first of its kind in Africa. The product was born out of the communication system. Nairobi County’s mobile network coverage stands at 99 percent, that means it is excellent!

The county has mobile network coverage of about 99%.

• Commerce

Nairobi City carries out trade links with the outside world including Asia, the Middle East, Europe, as well as the US. It has, for a long time been the hub of business in East Africa with trade ranging from agricultural products, real estate industries, tourism sector and export and import of economic goods.

Nairobi is the commercial nerve center of the country that offers citizens with a variety of business opportunities. But what are these vibrant business ideas once can venture into in Nairobi?

READ ALSO: Kenya’s Ailing Health Sector: Will We Ever Learn From Others?

Investment Opportunities in Nairobi County

There is a lot that one can achieve or inject his or her expendable cash into. From the manufacturing industry to wholesale and retail sub-sectors, tourism to health investments, Nairobi County will never let you sleep.

It doesn’t matter if you are young or old, rich or poor, broke or loaded, there are ideas you can implement and reap something big from them.

• Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE)

Investing in securities isn’t anyone’s forte, but it holds a lucrative opportunity for a person who likes risking money to get money. You know, they say scared money don’t make money.

From bonds to equities, to stocks, and commodities, the Nairobi Securities Exchange leads in East and Central Africa. In fact, it is the fourth largest in Africa in terms of trading volumes.

NSE plays a major role in mobilizing funds for investment. One doesn’t have to trade in everything to get money. You could choose to trade in forex exchange, or commodities like gold, petroleum, and other metals.

NSE gives you a platform to:

• Buy Bonds – Governments and large corporations sometimes borrow money from the public to fund their projects. They have quite attractive interests which vary depending on the duration of the bonds and the amounts issued. Investing in bonds is like saving money, it is one chance worth not passing up.
• Buy Stocks – The best time to buy them is during initial public offerings (IPO). Buying stocks allows you to buy shares from a company and during IPO’s, you can get them for between 5,000 and 10,000 shillings.

• Mutual Funds

The money market offers lots of lucrative returns. Investing in mutual funds is one way to enjoy a great return on investment. Mutual funds bring together investments from various individuals and corporations to make joint investments. The parties involved in the contribution all share in the fund’s profits and losses, so you won’t have to worry about shouldering them alone.

If you invested like 10,000 shillings, 2 percent of that cash goes to the manager of the funds, and the rest, 9,800 shillings is used to buy your units. The number of units depends on the market price.

• Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)

There are lots of business ideas for small and medium-sized enterprise in Nairobi County. These SMEs play a very important role in the Nairobi market by significantly contributing to Kenya’s GDP and its labor market.

For 10,000 shillings, you can invest in:

• Selling of second-hand clothes
• Tailoring
• Fuel or firewood selling
• Newspaper selling
• Foodstuffs like cereals, legumes, flour among others
• Fish selling
• Investing in soft drinks among others

If you are well off and can invest more than 10,000 shillings, opportunities include:

• Restaurants or coffee shops
• Butchers/grocery shops
• Electronics/smartphone/accessory shops
• Cosmetic and beauty shops
• Fashion shops – men and women footwear
• Jewelry Sales
• Small shop for Domestic commodities

If you believe in yourself and is looking for amazing returns, you can start with a big restaurant, pizza parlor, bakery, or catering shops.

• Jua Kali sector

Also, the Jua Kali sector, that is the informal division of artisans fabricating and remodeling all kinds of items make one great business opportunity. These individuals also deal with trading in second-hand goods like shoes, fabrics, electronics, and vehicle spare parts.

Visit Muthurwa or Gikomba among other markets in Nairobi City to get the idea of what I’m talking about.

• Manufacturing

Local manufacturing remains untapped and underutilized in the country. It will be the next big thing in Kenya if people realize its potential, which is why it makes one of the best investment opportunities currently. Some of the industries you could indulge yourself in include the production of steel products, plastic goods, soaps, flour, vegetable oil, canned fruit and fruit juice, horticulture, and dairy and poultry farming.

SEE ALSO: Poor Regulation and High Production Costs Choking Investment in Manufacturing Industry

• Tourism

As the only city in the world with a game park, Nairobi County attracts tourists from all over the globe. As such, you can dive into the hospitality industry and invest in hotels, tour services, outside catering, camping, among others.

These tourist attractions not only bring visitors from all over the world but also across the country.

Being home to the most important art museums, featuring masterpieces of African art from centuries such as National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi Railway Museum and Karen Blixen Museum, your idea of tourism will be reinforced without a hassle and you are bound to reap big.

• Real Estate

The real estate sector, anywhere in the world, is one lucrative venture everyone wishes they could get their hands on. It may seem like an uphill task, but anyone can own or lease property in Nairobi County by following the legal system and procedures.

The downside to this is that you need money to invest. The prices of property will vary depending on the location and its proximity to the central business district.

Also, the neighborhood and other projects around the place will influence how much you can invest in real estate. The best part about investing in property is that it attracts friendly terms that give you flexibility in terms of payment.

READ: Real Estate Records Increased Activity in the Residential Sector in May

Others start for as low as 50,000 shillings with monthly or yearly payment plans. The property can be purchased directly from property dealers or through real estate brokers.

Individuals, corporations, institutions, foreign investors and agencies can acquire property for commercial or residential purposes.

Verdict

There is a ton of other investment opportunities that one can venture into in Nairobi County. Others include vehicle assembly, clubs, government tenders, investment brokers, car brokers, betting shops, hardware, and second-hand vehicle parts, to name a few.

In a nutshell, whichever the amount you have, you can invest in a business that will prove lucrative in the end.

If you are short of ideas or isn’t interested in the ones listed above, you can always reach out to us for consultation.