Busia: As many college graduates would have the tendency of idling around to wait for employment opportunities, the case is different with one Evans Amwayi from Vihiga county. Along a dusty street running through Mbale town, a 24-year-old can be seen bending as he works on a motorcycle engine outside his small roadside repair shack. His hands are calloused, his face streaked with oil, but his eyes glint with quiet pride. He didn’t wait for white-collar salvation; instead, he built his own lane-literally.
According to Kenya News Agency, Amwayi studied for a diploma in mechanical engineering at the Sigalagala National Polytechnic in Kakamega county, but after graduating, a job never came his way. Amwayi resolved to start a hustle of repairing and servicing boda boda motorbikes and can handle up to 15 bikes a day to earn his daily bread. He is a member of a group of young people calling themselves hustlers-a lot of the youth who have turned to informal, self-initiated businesses to beat unemployment. From tailoring and online freelance tasks to street vending and digital marketing, these young people are rewriting the narrative of self-employment.
Amwayi recalls starting with the most basic tools; he bought a spanner kit and borrowed a jack. These tools enabled him to take off. Building trust was another struggle as customers initially had doubts. He had to fix a few bikes for free to prove his capability in the job. He also highlights the need for mentorship so that they know about registering businesses, bookkeeping, and growing the enterprises.
The mechanic is challenging his peers to be innovative and venture into any income-generating activity to sustain themselves instead of waiting for jobs.
