Meet Jacinta Mutoro, a 27-year-old medical graduate who makes a living by selling mosquito nets and bags.

Kenya is host to the many outstanding young businesspeople. Jacinta Mutoro, 27, like many other employees, would set aside money from each paycheck to pay for her responsibilities. The lab worker’s situation was always the same: the KES24,000 she earned was never enough to cover her needs.
Establishment of a Shoulder Business
To supplement her income, she decided to start a small business with KES 3,000. She hasn’t regretted her decision.
She was able to get a medical laboratory degree at the Technical University of Mombasa thanks to the business.

“In addition to meeting my basic needs and other expenses such as rent, I assist my family at home.” “I’ve also recruited my siblings,” she continued.
In a good month, she makes roughly KES 800,000 from selling household items. As requested by her consumers, she began by obtaining her items in Eastleigh, Nairobi.
“My coworkers were completely mesmerized by my designs. I used to give them credit for the products. They said they’d refund me in two months or something like that. “As a result of the technique, I identified my market niche,” Ms Jacinta added.

She discovered a thriving market for handbags and mosquito nets, which she purchased from Mombasa vendors. She said that she sold around four handbags every week and earned a good profit. She put the money aside to use it to start buying goods from other countries.

Diversification of Business

From inflatable mattresses, pull-out sofa beds, carpets, and flatware to handbags, plastic closets, and home décor, Jacy’s Smart Collection now has it all. She obtains them from Turkey, China, and other European countries.
“I began importing things after establishing contact with one of China’s producers.
” Back then, the majority of what I sold was handbags, but now I sell a wide range of household goods.” “I imported all of them myself,” she admitted.

She stated, “All a client has to do is tell me what they need, and I’ll take care of it.”
Customer Preferences Identification

As a consequence of her experience, she has a strong grasp of the industry and is now able to meet the needs of clients with diverse tastes.
“I have to keep a careful watch on trends since other companies occasionally obtain the same items. To meet the customer’s needs, I need to bring in something fresh “she clarified

She also has 7 staff that assist her in running the business. Depending on whether she sells wholesale or retail, her goods range in price from KES 2,000 to KES 14,000 each piece.

She communicates with customers using social media platforms such as Facebook. The most crucial aspect of her growing clientele, however, has been word of mouth.
In addition to the two branches she operates in Mombasa and Nairobi, she uses courier delivery to distribute the things to other locations.

Perseverance and hard- work

She confesses that balancing her full-time job with the demands of the project is challenging, but the benefits are well worth the effort.
“Because both of these jobs are so important to me, I feel obligated to work long hours.” “I’m a busy person,” she noted, “but my family has been quite supportive.”
The most problematic issue is the wide range of transportation costs.
“I expected to be charged KES 35,000, but when your items arrived, the rates went up. It was a massive undertaking, particularly during election season, “she clarified.

She aims to develop the business throughout the United States. For her, side-hustling is about more than simply making ends meet; it’s about following a passion and addressing consumer requirements.
Young Entrepreneurs’ Advice
She advises ambitious entrepreneurs to start a company with whatever they have.
“Start with what you have. It makes no difference if the amount is KES 1,000 or KES 2,000. You may never receive a lump sum payout in the first place.” She claims that no matter how tiny you start, it will ultimately blossom into something bigger.

Conclusion
Youth unemployment in Kenya has reached alarming levels. In actuality, eight out of ten unemployed persons are under forty years old. Approximately 85% of unemployed people are under the age of 35. The age group 20–24 years has the greatest unemployment rate, at 19.2 per cent.