By: John S. Morlu II, CPA
In Kenya, everyone is doing something on the side. Even the side hustle has a side hustle.
Being broke is not a crime, but doing nothing about it? Now that’s unforgivable. From university students to retired aunties, everyone’s grinding — flipping items online, braiding hair under mango trees, baking cakes from microwaves, or selling secondhand clothes (mitumba) with the confidence of a Gucci outlet.
Jua Kali: Innovation on the Streets
The “Jua Kali” sector — Swahili for “hot sun” — is where brilliance meets sweat. It’s the informal economy: artisans, welders, mechanics, tailors, and furniture makers hustling under the open sky.
Don’t be fooled by the lack of formal buildings. These folks can build an entire house using scrap, style your wedding with a shoestring budget, and fix your iPhone using parts that originally belonged to a toaster.
🧠 Fun Fact: Jua Kali employs over 80% of Kenya’s workforce. It’s informal, but it’s powerful — and completely necessary.
Corporate by Day, DJ by Night
Nairobi is full of professionals who moonlight as artists. Your Uber driver has three degrees. Your insurance agent is a TikTok star. Your accountant drops mixtapes every Friday. It’s not schizophrenia — it’s survival.
🎨 Tidbit: There’s a guy who sells grilled maize by day and hosts a podcast on East African geopolitics at night.
🎤 Even the lady at your local salon might be an aspiring gospel singer, drama coach, wedding planner, and part-time bouncer.
Hustle-on-Wheels
Boda boda riders often double as couriers, caterers, phone repairmen, and marriage counselors. It’s like Uber Eats, Amazon Prime, and TED Talks all rolled into one man on a bike.
Bonus: If you’re late for a meeting, a boda rider can get you there, bring your documents, pick your dry cleaning, and still give you life advice — all for 200 bob.
😅 Fun Fact: One boda rider was caught reading “Rich Dad Poor Dad” in traffic — while driving.
Mitumba Millions
Secondhand clothes from Europe, America, and China land in Kenya and become gold. Someone’s “old” Levi’s jeans in LA becomes a Nairobi fashion statement.
Mitumba sellers know brands better than most boutiques. They can spot an original Timberland boot from 20 feet away, blindfolded, in a thunderstorm.
🧠 Tidbit: Some Kenyans can walk into a pile of 1,000 secondhand shirts and pull out a Hugo Boss without breaking a sweat.
Multi-Level Hustle Strategy
- Start a barbershop
- Add a cyber café
- Rent out phone chargers
- Sell SIM cards
- Add a money transfer counter
- Finish with selling boiled eggs and smokies outside
That’s not a plaza — that’s one man with seven licenses and no sleep.
More Fun Facts:
- Most Kenyan students have a business before they graduate. Degree + M-Pesa line = startup.
- Some Kenyans create four email addresses: one for work, one for spam, one for side gigs, and one to apply for tenders they haven’t qualified for yet.
- The phrase “I’m just pushing things” is code for “I’m running 3 businesses, 2 side gigs, and 1 pyramid scheme.”
- The day Kenyans figure out how to monetize family WhatsApp groups, it’s over for Silicon Valley.
Final Word
In Kenya, hustle is not a phase. It’s a lifestyle. It’s woven into the culture like maize in ugali. Everyone’s selling, fixing, building, or scheming.
It’s beautiful. It’s wild. It’s real.
And if you visit — don’t ask people what they do. Ask what else they do.
Next up in Chapter Seventeen:
“The Food Chapter – Nyama Choma, Ugali, and the Art of Eating with Bare Hands.”
About the Author
John is an entrepreneur, strategist, and founder of JS Morlu, LLC, a Virginia based CPA firm with multiple software ventures including www.FinovatePro.com, www.Recksoft.com and www.Fixaars.com . With operations spanning multiple countries, John is on a mission to build global infrastructure that empowers small businesses, entrepreneurs, and professionals to thrive in an increasingly competitive world. He believes in hard truths, smart execution, and the relentless pursuit of excellence. When he’s not writing or building, he’s challenging someone to a productivity contest—or inventing software that automates it.
