Business Ideas for Coastal Towns in Kenya
The Kenyan coast is a business hub that has great investment potential, especially with the influx of tourists. Residents with entrepreneurial minds have a wide range of business ideas they can invest in. If you live in a coastal town in Kenya and are thinking of starting a business, consider the following:
Profitable Business Ideas for Coastal Towns in Kenya
The following are some lucrative business ideas for coastal towns you should consider.
1. Fishing
Fish is one of the favorite dishes for coastal residents. 9 out of 10 families incorporate fish in their meals at least once per day, making it a profitable business idea for coastal towns. Fishing is a good business idea since there is a ready market. You will need to have deep-sea fishing skills and know the best time of the day to go fishing. Invest in a strong boat and start making money.
2. Tour Guide Business
The Kenyan coast is a popular tourist destination, hence a lucrative coastal business idea. This means that tourists from different countries will want to walk along the sandy beaches, visit old buildings like the Fort Jesus in Mombasa, Gedi Ruins in Malindi, and Old Town Mombasa.
The coast also has a fascinating nightlife that tourists love to be part of. If these attraction centers are in your area, seek to know every corner so you can have an easy time guiding tourists whenever they come to visit.
There is more to this business other than just knowing your way around. You will need to know several foreign languages so you can speak to the tourists in their own languages. Doing so makes them feel safe and relaxed.
3. Food Business
The Kenyan coast is known for its delicious dishes starting from its mahamri, bhajia, biryani, pilau, fish curries, etc. Most of these meals take time to prepare and many people are usually discouraged from preparing them.
It is a perfect business opportunity to residents who love cooking. For a start, you can prepare these meals from your kitchen and do deliveries. As your business grows, you can think of setting up a restaurant.
Read also: How to start a fast food business.
4. Acrobat Show Business
Acrobatics is one of the most profitable businesses at the coast. Both foreign and local tourists will pay to see kids and adults perform acrobatic shoes. If you have excellent balancing skills, then this is the business for you. You can get some training and recruit friends who may be interested.
5. Selling Cultural Artifacts
Local and foreign tourists love to buy handcrafted souvenirs to take back home from their trips. As such, you can start a cultural artifacts retail business and sell traditional jewelry, wood carvings, and leather crafts.
These little souvenirs are expensive because tourists are always willing to buy things to keep memories of their wonderful times at the coast. Areas near the Old Town, Fort Jesus and Gedi Ruins are best suited for this business.
6. Fresh Water Sale Business
Water at the coast is extremely salty and residents usually have a hard time getting fresh drinking water. This is another excellent business opportunity. You can do some research to find out which areas have access to fresh water, then you can source your water from there and sell it in places without fresh.
Alternatively, if your budget allows, you can buy a distillation and filtration water system to extract pure water. People have been overlying on mineral water, which is very expensive. You can lower your prices to make sure that even the jobless man can afford to buy your drinking water. This will keep the customers coming and at the end of the day, you will have made huge profits.
7. Real Estate
Real Estate is booming along the coast. Both local and foreign tourists flock the coast during holidays, and during this time, they stay in holiday homes. You can invest in building cottages along the beach to rent out to holidaymakers. There is something special with beach properties along the coast.
Their demand increases each year, making them highly lucrative to those who invest in property along the coast. However, investing in property is capital intensive. Alternatively, you can choose to rent out your house during holidays at fair prices.
Read more: Real estate properties to invest in.
8. Sell Kitchenware
The coast is known for its exceptional dishes. A coastal woman’s kitchen is not complete without a collection of kitchenware. If you want to be a great friend of a woman from the coast, gift her utensils that she can use to prepare meals in her kitchen.
Instead of buying her gifts, why can’t you sell these to her at an affordable price? Places like Nawal Centre in Mombasa are making good business from their kitchenware section. You will mostly find women in that section buying kitchenware to use in their kitchens.
9. Selling Food Spices
The coastal people are known to prepare delicacies like Swahili foods. These foods are usually prepared using several spices. As such, you can start selling spices to the local residents and visitors.
It would be best if you can explain to the visitors how to use the spices. It is because many people who visit the coast always want to buy these spices and use them to prepare food back at home. Unfortunately, many of them do not know how these spices are used.
10. Taxi Business
The taxi business is highly lucrative at the coast. If you want to make good money, you will need to talk to hotel owners who will connect you to their clients who might want to move around.
Alternatively, you can station your taxi at Moi International Airport, Standard Gauge Railway Terminus, Malindi airport and Ukunda airport to chauffer people to their destination in great luxury. Depending on your startup capital, you can start with either a borrowed car, buy a single car, or buy a fleet of cars.
Read also: How to start a taxi business.
11. Rehabilitation Centre
Being a relaxed environment, many people, especially the youth have turned to drugs. Most of them have become hopeless drug addicts that need help. You can use this opportunity to start a rehabilitation center to raise awareness concerning the dangers associated with drug addiction. All you need to do is learn about the Psychology in addiction to get certification.
Read also: Highest paying jobs and their salaries in Kenya.
Summary of Business Ideas for Coastal Towns in Kenya
The above are some of the business ideas for the coastal residents. To identify the best business idea, conduct a thorough market research. Find out which business can work well in your location and pick one that works best for you. The welcoming nature of the coastal people is an advantage and can help you build a favorable business environment.
