Businesses you could consider in 2025

Businesses you could consider in 2025 (Photo: iStock)

Here we are in another year. After a handful of months, it will be December again and you will need some pocket change to play with. You need a plan.

What are some businesses you could get into in 2025 that will give you financial stability throughout the year and into the future?

There are some key factors you should consider when choosing a business to start. The business should be flexible, with the ability to adapt to changing customer needs - and new technologies - while remaining profitable.

It should also have a proven track record of growth - at least existing businesses in the field should show some promise.

The business you choose to get into should not cost you an arm and a leg. As a shrewd entrepreneur, one key factor to consider is how affordable the startup is, and how much it could cost to maintain the business before it breaks even. How steady is the income stream? Is the business scalable and customisable? How sustainable is it?

Starting a business with minimal capital is achievable, thanks to various opportunities tailored to meet local demands. These ventures can provide sustainable incomes for individuals with creativity, determination, and a small initial investment.

Digital freelancing is one such opportunity that has gained immense traction. With just a smartphone or computer, individuals can explore fields like online writing, data entry, social media management, and online tutoring.

There are many platforms that provide a gateway to the global gig economy, enabling Kenyans to earn by leveraging their skills. The low setup costs and high flexibility make freelancing an attractive option for those looking to work remotely.

Another thriving business idea is the second-hand clothing trade, commonly referred to as the Mitumba business. Selling affordable pre-owned clothes remains popular due to the high demand for budget-friendly fashion.

Entrepreneurs can start by purchasing small bales of clothing from suppliers and selling them in busy markets or neighbourhoods. Offering niche categories, such as children's wear or office attire, can further differentiate the business. By reinvesting profits strategically, a small operation can grow into a more substantial enterprise.

The mobile food vendor business also presents a lucrative avenue. With low startup costs, entrepreneurs can set up roadside stalls or carts offering snacks, breakfast items like chapati and mandazi, or local staples such as githeri and pilau.

Customizing the menu to include healthy or vegetarian options can attract a diverse clientele. Targeting busy areas like markets, construction sites, or bus stops ensures a steady flow of customers, making this a reliable income source.

Have you ever considered getting involved in the taxi business? The taxi hustle has been one of the fastest-growing gigs in urban Kenya. Whether you choose to drive the car yourself or opt to hire a driver, playing the role of manager, if you have the right car for the job you are good to go.

Kenya’s creative industry is another promising sector. The rising demand for Kenyan art, music, and film offers opportunities in digital media and content creation.

Setting up a digital media agency to assist businesses with social media, video production, and influencer marketing can be highly profitable. Additionally, platforms for streaming local movies and music or cultural tourism initiatives that showcase Kenya’s heritage provide avenues for creative expression and economic growth.

Depending on your innovativeness, flexibility and locality, there are many more options you can pick from to financially enable yourself this year. The question is, will you have pocket change in December?

12 Business ideas for 2025 

1. Taking care of the elderly

A damning BBC exposé in August 2023 painted one of Kenya's most famous homes for the elderly in a very bad light, as it showed centenarians being brutally manhandled by their caregivers.

Yet many elderly people continue to consider nursing homes, a model that represents a significant departure from the previously common practice of caring for the elderly at home.

With changing work schedules and more commitments for relatively young people, it is becoming more acceptable to place the elderly in homes where they receive great attention and professional care.

It costs a lot of money to start this business. You can get around this by offering your services in people's homes, like a nanny, for good money. Many people still keep their elderly relatives at home.

2. Consultancy in AI integration and automation

One topic that will be broached in nearly every company’s meetings is how to integrate artificial intelligence in their operations more efficiently to help maintain competitiveness in a fast-changing technology world and to lead to higher profits.

Amid fears AI could take away many people’s jobs, those who can harness the power of this technology will make a killing, as businesses seek to enhance customer experiences and are keen on making data-driven decisions. 

3. Agribusiness

A few years ago, UNHabitat noted that by 2025 (we are there already), more than half of the total population of Kenya would be living in urban areas. The urbanization rate was at 4.3 per cent per annum.

For any entrepreneur in agribusiness, the market is growing by the day. Sometimes it may get hurt when seasonal rains create excesses, but that is where a wise businessperson identifies a niche, perfects their trade, and identifies a reliable market. 

4. E-commerce (and drop-shipping)

Drop-shipping was big during the COVID-19 pandemic when movement was limited, but then that pattern did not entirely break when the world snapped out of its enforced stupor.

The convenience of e-buying makes it impossible to do away with, and with people’s schedules becoming increasingly tighter, it could continue thriving well into the future. You do not need a sprawling warehouse to stock all the goods you shall be selling.

You just need to connect with a wholesaler, use your social media handles to advertise products that are with the wholesaler, and have people buy from your online store. Then fetch the product from the wholesaler and drop it off to your customer; easy as ABC, as marketing agency AnimasMarketing explains. 

5. Social media management

Businesses today need a robust social media presence to reach customers. Engrossed in producing their goods and services, most businesspeople do not have enough time to interact with potential customers and are barely able to track metrics that could tell how viable some products and goals are.

If you can manage social media pages, grow them and help this traction in visibility translate to subscriptions or sales, then companies would be willing to pay to have you on board.  As a social media manager, you will create posts, engage followers, and track results.

6. Laundry services

Either you- or the person next door- have sought the services of mama fua at least once in the last, well, few months. You love to be clean but do you love to clean? You probably do, but then do you always have time for it?

What about those long hours at work, with the short breaks in between meant for many other activities: visiting friends and family, going to the park, and even resting? People are increasingly looking to outsource their cleaning.

On social media, people are constantly looking for referrals for laundry and house cleaning services, and as the population increases, there will only be higher demand for these services.

7. Cosmetics business

Getting the random facial facelift, or getting those nail extensions, is not about to run out of fashion. Nice hairdos shout confidence, and great grooming communicates an impeccable personality. On the rise, therefore, are cosmetics shops, sprouting in every corner of the city.

The interesting thing about it is if located where the people are, they are always finding business. People will be constantly looking for a chic appearance, and as long as you identify your niche market and sell products that are well in demand, you will always find a market.

8. Travel agency

Not only because it seems many people intend to flee the country, but also because the government is sending hundreds of thousands abroad, but foreign travel is hitting new levels.

People need someone to hold their hand throughout the bureaucracy that precedes travel, and here is where travel agencies come in. In 2024, the country received 2.5 million tourists, up from 1.9 million in 2023.

9. Security, and security appliances installation

While training security personnel could be extremely expensive, you could go the way of selling and installing security appliances such as CCTVs and lights. Every landlord and business owner is keen on securing their properties, and security appliances’ business is very sustainable.

10. Fitness and wellness

Whether for health reasons or simply the desire to keep fit - and for some it borders on obsession, for others it is a business - fitness can make you a fortune.

In a ruthless corporate environment where regular restructuring has led to job losses, and at a time when young, unemployed people are being drawn into drugs and crime, counselling services are in high demand, and consulting in this area, which requires expertise, or hiring trainers who can be linked to clients, could be lucrative.

11.  Waste collection and management

This could be expensive if one plans to recycle waste themselves. But if one is to collect and deliver to recyclers, then it could be a good business. Nairobi is choking in plastic waste, which needs collection and recycling. 

12. Outside catering

Times have changed and even in rural villages, where a cabal of local, amateur chefs were sought to help cook and serve food in a ceremony, professionalism has been embraced and outside catering companies are being contracted for even the smallest of events.

However, one needs expertise in hospitality and catering, and investment in equipment for use, including, if possible, means of travel for mobility’s sake.

-Additional information by Ann Musungu.