As the cold season continues to bite, many youths in Kiambu County have taken to hawking coffee so as to improve their living standards.
Matthew Gitahi said he gets a daily profit of Sh500 and the demand is high. “Due to the high demand, I sell at least 20 litres of coffee especially to traders at the market and matatu operators,” said the 25-year-old.
Gitahi urged other jobless youths to venture into the business and earn a decent living instead of engaging in crime and immorality.
Another hawker, Jacinta Wahito, said she ventured into the trade last year after being jobless for two years.
“After completing my secondary education, I stayed at home for two years. That is when my parents gave me Sh5, 000 to start up a business of my choice. A friend advised me to invest in coffee vending,” she said.
Wahito said the cold season are her best days as she makes more profit. She said all a person needs to start the trade is a coffee dispenser, disposable cups and hot water flasks.
On his part, the Kiambu Public Health Officer Francis Mwangi urged the coffee vendors to seek licences and letters of operation from public health offices to legitimise their businesses.
Besides, he asked them to maintain high standards of hygiene in order to prevent outbreak of diseases, adding that consumers should ensure that they take their coffee from healthy premises and persons and also avoid reckless littering of the disposable cups.