No suits, no offices: How Gen Zs are making their money 

Overlook the vintage money drip, resumes and sitting in offices for up to 10 hours trying to work extra hours to generate wealth.

Matter of fact, trash the old adage that somewhat influences people into believing that education is the key to success. Not convinced?

Well, how do you explain the high numbers (8.6 per cent, according to the World Bank) of Kenyans with advanced education, yet they remain unemployed? 

Yikes! Even those with Master’s and Doctorate degrees are crying foul. Truly, the ‘system is rigged’ and so many people have been left to devise their own ways of making money. 

All hail the Internet for coming just at the right time, because what would the Gen Zs, Gen Alphas, and some millennials do without it? 

You see, it’s because of the Internet that these latter-day generations are making a living, and some even generating legit wealth. 

In it, they have found Hogwarts houses with many of them exploring different modern-day hustles where they set the rules and become their own bosses.

But what is it exactly that the Gen Zs are into of late, like make it make sense, because what the helly! These youngins’ be balling and making more than some ancestors combined. 

Cryptocurrency 

You’ve probably come across the famous TikTok crypto influencers who preach the gospel of blockchain as they hold the promise of financial freedom and generational wealth.

Think of the likes of Raymond Omosa, alias, Kenyan Prince, who gives us sleepless nights flaunting cars, mansions and generally the life that comes with crypto forex. 

“When I heard that Worldcoin was coming to Kenya, I went to queue and was registered, there were many of us because word about crypto was spreading like bush fire and I did not want to miss a chance to make this investment,’ says Grace Wanjiru, 23. 

She says that given the right awareness, education and platform, she is open to the idea of crypto because it has proved to be a profitable investment. 

Many youths believe that crypto is a way out of poverty and financial dependence.

Much less, they say, it does not come with academic requirements and qualifications; you just have to understand how everything works.

This, unlike the corporate world that calls for certain education and skills levels, in addition to rigid policies. 

The crypto world is becoming so big that the Kenyan government and other relevant stakeholders have tabled a bill to allow parties to obtain licences and position Kenya as the crypto capital of Africa. 

“When this bill comes to law, we will see a lot of crypto exchanges, crypto wallets and various other companies coming to obtain licences. This means more Kenyan youth and innovators will participate in buying crypto assets or virtual assets, including Bitcoin and Ethereum,’’ says Alan KaiKai, Director, Virtual Assets, Chamber of Commerce. 

Freelancing 

Even though the Zillenials, Gen Zs, and Gen Alphas are into money and motivated by pay, they are all about flexibility and the ability to be in control of what they do. 

Gen Z grew up witnessing increased living expenses, widespread layoffs and economic insecurity. They then realised they could actually make money on their own terms by freelancing.

From coding from any location with Wi-Fi, to creating logos from a café, or editing films from a dorm room, the new modalities enable people to prioritise work-life balance over corporate ladders, develop personal brands and pursue a variety of hobbies. 

Additionally, Gen Zs can easily convert their skills into money, thanks to sites like Upwork, Fiverr and LinkedIn that make it simpler to connect with clients around the world.

For them, freelancing is a way of life that emphasises autonomy, creativity and control rather than merely a side gig. 

Influencing, content creation 

More than half, approximately 57 per cent of Gen Zs, want to be influencers. At first, you might dismiss it as just a craving for attention, maybe, but for them, they take it as a job. 

Who wouldn’t want to get paid for shooting some content and advertising products and brands? Hollup!

It’s not as easy as it sounds because, boy, you gotta have the patience, time and energy to shoot and edit videos, which tends to be time-consuming.  

And don’t forget the whole production that comes with it, its like a whole marketing team in just one person. 

While influencers get paid variably depending on a gig, in Kenya, for instance, nano-influencers (under 10k followers) earn not less than Ksh5000 while established ones rake in millions through single campaigns. 

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