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Best Sources of Passive Income in Kenya

Passive income is an excellent way to prepare for the future and and a boost to regular income. Creating several sources of passive income is an excellent idea. Normally, a passive income is a long term investment that generates income continuously. The time it takes to start generating returns vary from one investment to the other. There are many jobs and side hustles in Kenya that can help you earn a passive income. 

What is Passive Income?

Passive income is money that you get without having to continually work for it. Passive income is continuous, and you get returns whether you are sick, on vacation, and working or not.

To be clear, it is that income that is continuously available even when you stop working. Note, it is different from a side hustle. A passive income is not free since you need to invest your time and money before it can start generating returns.

Consider this example; if you are an employee and you stopped working, then your income gets stopped. If you have some rental houses and stopped working from your regular job, the rental income will continue. Hence, rental income is considered a passive income. 

Best Passive Investments in Kenya 

The following are some excellent passive income ideas in Kenya. 

1. Dividends from Stocks and Other Investments

Dividends and stocks are some of the best passive income investments in Kenya. To start generating a passive income from stocks, you need to open a brokerage account. Once you have invested, after some time, you will start getting dividends.

However, there is no fixed percentage of dividends you can get; the rates can go up or down. It is best to diversify investment in stocks since assets can crash and you make losses. Therefore, make sure to invest in different stocks and assets.

2. Rental Income

As mentioned in the example above, rental income is one of the best passive income investments in Kenya. There are minimal risks involved in rental income, making it among the best sources of passive income. There are many real estate properties you can let out like buildings, land and space.

It is also best to diversify your sources of rental income. If you can manage to let out several of your properties, you can push your income higher. It is capital intensive, but you can start small and keep growing your rental buildings.

Read more: How to start a house rental business in Kenya.

3. Interest from Savings Accounts and Bonds

Bonds and savings accounts generate interest. Interest is the yield you get from money you deposit in a savings account. The interest rates are usually not very high. As such, to make significant interest from bonds and savings account, you need to invest large sums of money.

To make a significant returns from bonds, you need to invest in highly risky bonds. This is not advisable because you can lose lots of money. You can invest large sums of money in low risky bonds to maximize your returns.

4. Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT)

A real estate investment trust is like a mutual fund that deals with real estate projects. Professionals operate the investment trust and you do not need to worry about how it works.

You get an interest from REITs, which is usually much higher than that offered by bank accounts and bonds. You can sell your interest from REITs anytime you want to.

5. Income from Royalties

You can generate passive income online through music, YouTube, app, e-books, videos and photography. You need to know how to monetize your online content to start generating a passive income. 

Read also: How to make money in the music industry. 

6. Blogging

Blogging is another source of passive income. You need to have a website and create high-quality content. You also need to have SEO skills to have your pages rank high on search engines. Update your blog with new content from time to time. There are many ways to monetize a blog, among them affiliate marketing, advertisements and Sponsored searches. 

Seek to add value to your readers and provide them with solutions to their problems. This way, they will keep coming back to your blog.

Read more: How to start a blog in Kenya. 

7. Affiliate Marketing

To start generating passive income through affiliate marketing, you need to have an online presence. You may need to have a website with a large audience. You need to market third party products through your website.

For any product bought through your affiliate link, the website owner is paid a commission. You need to have high-quality content on your website. Also, keep updating your content to attract more audience.

8. Start an E-commerce Store

An e-commerce store is a great way to generate passive income. You only need to take care of security, hosting and credit card processing. You also need to promote your website to have more people purchase products on your e-commerce store. Shopify is a good example of an e-commerce store. 

Summary of the Best Sources of Passive Income in Kenya

Besides your regular source of income, it is best to have a passive income. It can be a boost to your regular income and a security when you retire or resign from your work. Passive income can be a long term goal. However, you need to invest time and money in the initial stages. Once the investments are up and running, you do not have to work continually to earn an income.

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