They are young, mostly in their 40s and 50s. They are self-made
entrepreneurs with a sharp eye for money spinning ventures in Kenya
economy. You're out of work. The job listings are thin. You have no money to start your own business. Maybe you don't even have a computer to assist in conducting a proper job search. Rest easy, we're here to help.
We've scoured the earth for ten solid business ideas--endeavors that you can mostly start up with little more than a smartphone and a Gmail address, and that you could get under way tomorrow if you absolutely had to. Sure, a computer--or at least a netbook--would help with just about any of these suggestions, but for most of your day-to-day activities in these ten enterprises, you won't need anything more than your phone and a big dose of old- fashioned gumption.
Now get out there--the economy is waiting!
1. Car Service
Provided you have a car with a spacious back seat--and you're good at keeping it clean and tidy--you can start a car service without much effort, particularly if you live in a smaller town without major taxi regulations. The biggest hurdle is getting the appropriate driver's license for your state and/or city (check with your state's DMV for details). Once that's out of the way, you can put up a simple website and offer a phone number for customers to schedule pickups. Your phone can double as a calendar and address book to keep track of appointments, and it can work as a GPS device to ensure you're going the right way. Check out UberCab , which lets passengers book travel on private cars directly from their iPhone.
2. Travel/Tour Guide
What better way to turn a lifetime of living in the same town into pocket money than to become a tour guide around said town? Get the word out by building a website and offering commentary on Yelp to promote yourself as a local expert. Services such as Genbook can help you manage appointments and scheduling, and any Android phone can download a multi- waypoint map from Google Maps to help you plan your tour route. During your downtime, write a tour guidebook and sell it as a print-on- demand book as well as an e-book and smartphone app.
3. Writer
It may be foolhardy to attempt to start a career as a writer without a computer--and we don't exactly advise it--but it has been done before. Blogging is a good place to start: A variety of iPhone apps exist for the major blog platforms (including WordPress and Tumblr ) to expedite mobile posts, and many other platforms (such as TypePad) have mobile services built right in. But there's no need to stop at blogging. In Japan it's becoming popular to write and distribute entire novels via cell phone, specifically text message-- in 2007, five of the top ten bestselling novels in Japan were "cellphone novels" written specifically for the medium. Are we ready for such a thing on our shores? Only one way to find out.
4. Videographer
In the old days, a documentarian, filmmaker, or other video-production professional used to have to fill a van with equipment and haul it from location to location--along with a sizable crew--in order to get a day's worth of shots. Now that pocket video cameras have reached HD quality, it's possible to forgo all of that. If you're brave, you can even shoot with a high-end cell phone, and handsets such as the iPhone 4 and the Samsung Instinct line include basic video- editing features right in the phone. If you're shooting custom video for clients, you can distribute footage directly to them while you're still on location, or upload it to YouTube with little more than a click and a swipe.
5. Mystery Shopper
One perennially popular scam of the spam world--'Mystery shoppers wanted in your area!'-- is actually a legit business for many people, and can bring in real money with a minimum of up- front effort. The important part is doing it right. E-mail come-ons are not the way to start a genuine business. Rather, do your research into legitimate mystery-shopping clearinghouses such as Corporate Research International (where mystery shoppers are called "auditors"), which handles major clients ranging from Chili's to Sears. Don't expect to make a ton of cash--busy shoppers often earn five figures annually in cash and schwag--but if you have lots of time to kill and enjoy shopping, it's worth a look.
6. Auction Maven
eBay may have been the hottest tech company of the last millennium--traffic has been eroding for years now--but it's still big enough to merit the 21st spot among the most trafficked websites in the world, per Alexa. Business opportunities in the auction field remain as varied as the items for sale on the site. Troll garage sales and storage-center forfeiture sales for buried treasure, and then relist the items at auction. Make your own quilts and offer them up on eBay (or, better yet, on Etsy). Or set up shop helping people who would otherwise be putting their unwanted merchandise out on the street make a few bucks by selling it online. eBay's mobile app for iPhone, Android, or BlackBerry makes managing storefronts easy from anywhere.
7. Life Coach
Ah, the beauty of the life coach: You need no real credentials, no degree, and no special business license to give people your opinion on how they should run their lives. Throw together a website touting your expertise--in the life- coach world, the more outrageous the design, the better--get some testimonials from people friendly to your cause, and write up a few stories that show off how wise and intelligent you are (something like "Seven steps to a more serene id"). Once the clients come calling, you can book appointments for in-person meetings or, better yet, telephone calls. Charge premium rates or monthly retainers for folks who'd like 24/7 attention. You're on your own, however, when it comes to actually dealing with all these crazies.
8. Virtual Assistant
Who doesn't need a little helping hand from time to time? Virtual assistants let people with too much on their plate outsource the most menial tasks to a peon. That's you! Exactly what you do is up to you and your client, but the most successful virtual assistants are the ones who will do just about anything that falls even remotely within the letter of the law. Realistically you'll be buying event tickets, researching vacations, fetching dry cleaning, and even dogsitting from time to time, but requests can run the gamut from the mundane to the extravagant. Be clear about your fee structure-- most assistants bill hourly plus expenses, or offer prepackaged monthly deals for a set number of tasks--and promote the heck out of yourself. Entrepreneur magazine has several ideas along these lines to get you going.
9. Tech Support
Are you the one everyone calls when their computer goes south? Why not get paid for it by fixing the computers and answering the technical questions of helpless strangers? A good web page touting your services is critical here. Use keywords and make sure you're specific about the local boundaries of any on-site service. Most people looking for help will Google "city name tech support" or something along those lines, so use your best SEO-fu to design a page that beginners will understand and search engines will love--remember, these are frustrated people who can't figure out why the fonts are so small on their new monitor, so simple and clear language is key.
Craigslist is a popular spot for advertising your wares when business is slow, but be sure to elevate your postings above the riff-raff.
10. 'Personal' Phone Service Operator
When all else fails, you can always talk to people on the phone. This doesn't take a lot of skill or much in the way of setup beyond getting a 900 number or 800 number (plus a mechanism to accept credit card payments). Want to give out recipe advice, sports-betting picks, or psychic readings? Whatever floats your boat, chances are good that someone out there is willing to pay to listen to you say it. Of course, a lot of these services tend toward more "mature" offerings, but we here at PCWorld would never, ever judge you for that.
Young entrepreneurs are changing the face of Africa. I set out to produce a list of the 30 Africans under 30 years old who are making the most dramatic impact across the continent.
To do so, in November I enlisted an outside panel of 12 judges from across Africa to help identify this group of outstanding entrepreneurs and innovators under the age of 30.
Cut across Real Estate , Financial Services, Manufacturing, Media, Tech , Green tech, Healthcare, Agriculture and Fashion, the 30 young African entrepreneurs, disruptors and innovators featured on this list are impatient to change Africa.
Together, they represent the entrepreneurial, innovative and intellectual best of their generation. They’re solving problems like healthcare and electricity shortages, proffering innovative solutions to waste management, building virtual and physical communities and creating lots of jobs.
A few of them are manufacturing the foods we love, designing exquisite clothing for our women and some are developing some cool apps for mobile phones across Africa. Of course, this list is by no means official or exhaustive, but this is the closest you’ll get to a definitive list.
A round of applause for Africa’s 30 Under 30 – the continent’s best young entrepreneurs, today’s disruptors and tomorrow’s brightest stars:
Jonathan Liebmann, South African
Real Estate developer, CEO of Propertuity
Liebmann, 28, is the Managing Director of Propertuity, a South African Real Estate development company and the brains behind the construction of the Maboneng Precinct, a thriving cultural district in the east side of Johannesburg’s CBD. Once a neglected and deteriorating neighborhood housing abandoned industrial complexes, Liebmann transformed Maboneng into a vibrant urban mixed-use community complete with Art galleries, artist studios, retail spaces, offices and artist studios. Read more about Jonathan Liebmann, Propertuity and Maboneng Precint here .
Patrick Ngowi, Tanzanian CEO,
Helvetic Solar Contractors
Nine years ago, Patrick Ngowi, 28, received a small loan from his mother to start off a business. He started off selling Chinese mobile phones, but when he discovekored that a tiny fraction of Tanzanians enjoyed any access to stable and reliable electricity, he knew he had to rectify that problem. Ngowi set up Helvetic Solar Contractors Limited , a company that is a pioneer in the supply, installation and maintenance of solar systems throughout the Northern Circuit of Tanzania. Helvetic Solar Contractors is the first company in the Northern Circuit to cater for Solar needs. The company did about $3 million in revenues last year. Read more about Patrick Ngowi and Helvetic Solar here .
Lorna Rutto,kenya
Green Tech Entrepreneur, Founder, EcoPost
Lorna Rutto, 28 is the founder of EcoPost , a profitable social enterprise which manufactures aesthetic, durable and environmentally friendly fencing posts using plastic waste, a more environmentally friendly alternative to timber. EcoPost collects this plastic waste (such as polypropylene and polyethylene) and manufactures fencing posts from it. Rutto has earned international acclaim for her efforts in providing an alternative waste management solution to Kenya’s plastic menace. Read more about Lorna Rutto and Ecopost here .
Justin Stanford, South African
Founder & CEO, 4Di Group
Stanford, 28, is a software entrepreneur and venture capitalist. Seven years ago, he cornered the exclusive and lucrative distribution rights for ESET, a Slovakian anti-virus software package. Today, Stanford’s ESET Southern Africa operates the ESET brand in the region and sells ESET’s range of internet security products in about 20 sub-Saharan countries, recording over $10 million in annual turnover. He controls about 5% of the anti- virus market in Southern Africa. Stanford is also the founder of 4Di Capital, a Cape Town-based venture capital fund. Read more about Justin Stanford here .
Rapelang Rabana, South African
Founder, Yeigo Communications
Rapelang Rabana, 28 is the CEO and founder of Yeigo Communications, an innovative Cape Town-based company which develops software for telecoms-related services including Voice over IP, Instant messaging, SMS messaging and push email services. In 2008, Telfree , a Swiss mobile telecommunications firm acquired a 51% stake in Yeigo. Read more about Rapelang Rabana here.
Kimiti Wanjaria & Ian Kahara, Kenyan
Founders, Serene Valley Properties
Both in their late 20s, Kimiti Wanjaria and Ian Kahara are part of a group of four co- founders of Serene Valley Properties (SVP), a Real Estate development company in Nairobi that constructs and sells residential properties to Kenya’s ever-growing middle class. SVP is behind the development of Sigona Valley project , a KSh350m (US $4.2m) gated residential community outside Nairobi. Read more about Wanjaria and Kahara here .
Evans Wadongo, Kenya
Chairman, SDFA Kenya
Wadongo, a 26 year-old Kenyan engineer designed a solar-powered LED lantern called MwangaBora (Swahili for “Good Light”), an invention which is fast replacing smoky kerosene lamps and firelight in rural Kenya. Wadongo has been distributing thousands of these lanterns throughout rural Kenya where there is little or no electricity. His organization, Sustainable Development For All (SDFA) sponsors an empowerment initiative that teaches poor Kenyans how to reproduce these solar lanterns and sell for profit. Read more about Evans Wadongo here.
Ludwick Phofane Marishane, South African
Founder, Headboy Industries
Marishane, 21, is the founder of Headboy Industries, a South African company which developed and owns the patent for Drybath, the world’s first germicidal bath- substituting skin lotion/gel. Read more about Marishane and Headboy Industries here .
Cosmas Ochieng, Kenyan
Founder, Ecofuels
Kenya Cosmas Ochieng, a 26 year-old Kenyan entrepreneur runs Ecofuels Kenya , an East Africa firm which produces environmentally friendly, green biofuels and organic fertilizers from renewable indigenous sources such as the croton nut. Read more about Ecofuels here.
Eric Muthomi, Kenyan
Founder, Stawi Foods & Fruits
The 26 year-old Kenyan entrepreneur is the founder of Stawi Foods and Fruits, an innovative start-up which procures bananas from smallholder farmers in rural Kenya and processes them into banana flour. Read more about Eric Muthomi and Stawi Foods here.
original article: forbes.com
While I was trawling the internet looking
for information for you my niblings, I came
across an article done by Microsoft which
was a post about the richest Kenyans
under the age of 30. Not surprisingly, most
of them are techies or deal in something
technology oriented But one man stood
out.
#9. Cosmas Ochieng 26yrs old Eco Fuels
#8. James Mwale 20yrs old, made 42.5 million
while he was just 19yrs old.
Joel Mwale, 20 - Founder, SkyDrop
Enterprises
#7. Heshan de Silva founder of VenCap Kenya
He sold his first company for 122million
shillings.
#6. Eric Muthomi 26yrs old -Stawi Foods and
Fruits
#5. Mark Kaigwa 25yrs old -partner at
afrinnovator
#4. Mike Muthiga 26 yrs old -founder of Fatboy
Animations
#3. Lorna Rutto 28yrs old -founder of EcoPost
#2. Antony Mwaura 24yrs old -DreamIt
Computing Technology
#1. Evans Wadongo 27yrs old -Director of
Operations at sustainable Development For All
(SDFA Kenya)
Note that the list isn't in any particular order.click here to view the list
Everyone knows that starting companies — and investing in startups — is a risky way to earn a living. But few people appreciate just how risky it is. Thanks to a recent tweet from Paul Graham, the founder of "startup school" Y Combinator, we now have a better idea. Graham says that 37 of the 511 companies that have gone through the Y Combinator program over the past 5 years have either sold for, or are now worth, more than $40 million. Most entrepreneurs would probably view creating a company worth more than $40 million as a success (unless the company raised more capital than that). And, on its face, the "37 companies" number seems relatively impressive. In fact, however, the number tells a scary and depressing story. This number suggests that a startling 93% of the companies that get accepted by Y Combinator eventually fail. (Not all companies that sell for less than $40 million are "failures," obviously. Assuming a company hasn't raised much capital, a sale between $5 million and $40 million could be considered a success. But a high percentage of Y Combinator companies likely end up being worth zero. And for companies that are hand-picked by very smart investors, the 93%-below-$40 million rate is still surprisingly low). A company accepted by Y Combinator, therefore, has less than a 1-in-10 chance of being a big success. More alarmingly, the companies accepted by Y Combinator are only a tiny fraction of the companies that apply. Some have estimated that Y Combinator's acceptance rate is 3-5% . If we use the 5% rate, we can estimate that Y Combinator has received about 10,000 applications for the ~500 companies it has chosen over the years. Assuming Y Combinator has even a modest ability to pick winners, therefore, the odds that a company applying to Y Combinator will be a success are significantly lower than the odds of success of the companies accepted into the program. If only 37 of the companies that have applied to Y Combinator over the years have succeeded, this is a staggeringly low 0.4% success rate. Put differently, only one in every 200 companies that applies to Y Combinator will succeed. The reality is that Y Combinator probably misses a few winners, so the actual odds are probably slightly higher. But in case any entrepreneur or angel investor is deluding themselves into thinking that startups are an easy way to cash in, they might want to think again. UPDATE: Paul Graham points out that it takes time for a company's value to grow, so including Y Combinator graduates from this year and last year is unfair. If we use, say, 300 companies instead of 511, the odds of success improve slightly. 37 success stories out of 300 graduates produces "success" odds of just better than 1 in 10. also read: the guy paying you $100,000 to drop out of school
