a fish monger in Migori market

With the schools closing for short holidays before ushering in the last term for this academic year, students and teachers can use the time to make extra buck.

Here are ten lucrative small business can be started with little capital in Kenya and can be operated in all major towns apart from the capital Nairobi.

The good part of these business is that they do not require tenders or proposals, but a small running capital starting from Sh1,000 that can be folded up when schools re-open.

1. Selling second hand clothes
The best part of the business is that with little capital you can easily get a bulk of the clothes and start off by having open air stalls of clothes stretched on a sack. Gikomba and Eastleigh estates are the best place to get clothes for sale and re-sale them in estates and open road sides. In a good day a trader can at least make Sh500 per day which can be recouped by buying more clothes for sale.

2. Hawking
This the best way to start business without any overheard capital, what is needed is fast moving goods (especially home appliances) and a strategic place where there is a steady flow of people and customers. The best places being outside churches, bus stop, streets, estates and during major events.

Some best moving products can be umbrellas during raining season, clothes, home appliances hawked in home and offices ate a low prices.

The idea is having the supplier to get goods in wholesale and ability to negotiate prices with customers and convincing them to buy your goods with day circulation reaching about Sh2,000.

3. Managing an M-pesa shop
Most students who have parents who are entrepreneurs can start honing their business acumen by managing their family Mpesa business. The mobile money transfer is a market that is here to stay and can still bring in money even in crowded.

Even mum-and-dad retail shops in estates have Mpesa shops as sidekicks to supplement their income with most business people housing Mpesa entrepreneurs separately.

What is needed is about Sh100,000 through getting a line via a dealer and investing an intial Sh50,000 to start seeing profit ticking in.

4. Owning and managing a boda boda
This is the most overlooked business by youths outside schools. Most students whose parents are operating the bikes leave it for hired riders to bring in the money. The industry got a major boost after President Uhuru Kenyatta placed a waiver on buying motorbikes.

A single motorbike costs between Sh40,000-120,000, while most owners only require Sh300-500 a day from the riders with the rest going directly to riders.

5. Operating a small restaurant
In any business the trick is always starting small, building a loyal customer base and then expanding it off by adding capital. The best start up is always starting a restaurant or an open air/road side eatery to sell off fast food.

The idea is placing the venture in a place with high traffic of people like streets, construction sites, major social events or around bus stops. The best fast foods being chips, sausage, roasted maize, African sausages “mutura” among others.

What is needed is as little as Sh5,000 capital with returns starting to tickle in by evening with others being hawking the food items around venues for maximum profit.