Online jobs are becoming a reality in the future of work and especially in the wake of the Covid-19 Pandemic, which has seen more organizations embrace remote work.
In Kenya, recent statistics by the Ministry of ICT show that
1.2 million Kenyans are working online through the Ajira
Program, an initiative launched by the government to equip young people in
digital skills and create employment.
Digital Marketing (22 percent), Data Entry (21 percent),
Academic Paper Writing (20 percent) and Virtual Assistant are top the jobs
Kenyans are doing online.
In this article, we will highlight some of the popular
online jobs in Kenya and tips on how to land online work in Kenya.
Best Online Jobs
Content Writing – Content writers create
topic-specific articles for blogs and websites. Businesses are relying on
content writers to generate copy for their products and increase brand
awareness and while some companies have inhouse content writers, a good number
of organizations prefer working with freelancers as they are quite economical
to maintain.
Online academic Writing – University students in
developed countries have been using freelancers in developing countries to
write their academic papers. The content touches on basically all fields of
study in higher learning institutions; Engineering, history, politics etc.
Academic writing is one of the top online jobs in Kenya that
is quite common especially among university students and unemployed graduates.
You can sign up for academic paper writing on various
platforms including UvoCorp, WritersBay, and StudyPool. The assignments
often come with requirements on word count, Standard writing formats (APA, MLA,
and Harvard) and also the Number of citations required.
The rates range from $5 to $20 dollars per page depending on
the subject area.
Transcription – transcribing jobs require you to
listen to audio text and convert it into written text. Some of the popular
sites for transcription jobs are TakeNote, GoTranscript, Transcription Panda,
Rev, Scrbie, Temi, and TranscribeMe.You will need to sign up on these platforms
to become a transcriber and get jobs.
The platforms have tests that you must pass in order to
qualify for their online transcription jobs. Transcription accounts pay
fortnightly or monthly.
Virtual Assistant: VA jobs are some of the
online jobs that require minimal skills. Some of the key tasks in
virtual assistant jobs include managing simple administrative tasks, like
taking calls, answering emails, customer service, accounting and scheduling.
To be a great VA, some of the tops skills required is good
organizational skills. Hourly rates are $14-$30.
Some of the Companies that Commonly hire for Virtual
Assistant Jobs are Ajilon, Boldly, Equivity and Planet Professional
Data Entry – Data entry involves feeding data
into a computer using a keyboard, scanner, voice recorder, and mouse.
Organizations are always in need of data entry services.
Data entry is also one of the best online jobs in Kenya although it reportedly
pays less than writing jobs. To excel in the role, you need to be skilled in
computer programs like Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word.
You will often be taken through a training to familiarize
yourself with the software respective companies use for their data entry. These
entries could range from updating stock data bases, donations etc.
Web Development – organizations and individuals
are often in need of websites. This has provided a frontier for freelance web
developers, making it another popular opportunity for online jobs in Kenya.
Graphics Design and animation – graphic
designers create visual content mostly for marketing. These include posters,
billboards and logos among others.
As a graphic designer you can work for NGOs, tech companies,
and more. Companies that hire you will test your proficiency in Adobe
Illustrator, UX, and CSS.
Animation has become quite popular over the years especially
with videos becoming the most popular type of content used in marketing /
advertising over written content.
Safaricom is one of the companies in Kenya that has a
preference for animated Ads.