Barkat Ali Manji has devised a smart way to make money from his barber skills when the Kenyan economy is plagued by turmoil.
Manji offers mobile barber services in his mobile van.
He visits various homes in Nairobi, most of the suburbs, where he offers his services for Ksh3,000.
He recently revealed that he tends to at least 10 clients every day and translating to Ksh30,000 daily income.
But, he had never thought of such a business until last year when the Covid-19 pandemic struck hard, leaving many jobless.
He studied tutorials on YouTube on how to start a mobile barbershop and replicated the same.
Manji established a rich clientele comprising politicians, celebrities and business tycoons.
“My friend and I were just watching videos on YouTube about the mobile barbershops in the UK and we thought it was a great idea and immediately I decided to take the risk,” he recalls.
Against all odds, he decided to keep learning and is happy that his business model is working perfectly.
His biggest challenge was installing water and electricity in his van, but he finally did it.
“It was quite difficult at first because I did not know how to install water and electricity in a moving van. It has been a learning lesson for me,” he added.
In addition, the traffic nightmare in Nairobi has challenged him so much that he sleeps for five hours in a day sometimes.
“I sleep for only four hours just because of traffic. Sometimes I have to be in a client’s house at around 5 am,” Manji stated.
The van is cozy and has a special ambiance. His clients forget that they are in a van simply because of how he has designed it.
Politician William Kabogo and Otile Brown are some of the high-flying Kenyan personalities who have embraced mobile barber services.
