How to Invest 1 million Shillings in Kenya (Tips and Ideas)

We look at how to invest 1 million Shillings in Kenya in this article

So, how do you invest your 1 million shillings in Kenya and have it earn better returns (than just saving it in the bank)?

Now, one of the key things you must look at is the security of your hard-earned money.

Why?

Many Kenyans have fallen for scams and you don’t want to lose your cash after going for a company that promises an insanely high return only for the company to start taking you round in circles when you want to withdraw your money.

That being so, I will share with you some of the best investment options you can put your 1 Million into in Kenya and get reasonably good returns while ensuring the safety of your money.

So let’s get started:

How to Invest 1 million Shillings in Kenya (where to invest 1 million shillings in Kenya)

First, you have to ask yourself what is your risk appetite..

This is important because if you’re looking for the highest return on your investment, you have to be bold enough to go for investment vehicles that are equally highly risky (such as the Bitcoin) but whose profits are far much more than what you get in relatively safe investments (like Money market funds).

The other big question is the type of investment income you’re after..

You see, the best type of investment is that which doesn’t involve you on a day-to-day basis (passive income) because you don’t have to leave what you’re currently doing.

A good example here is investing in government securities such as treasury bonds – you’ll always get your interest while doing nothing.

On the other hand, some investment options need your active participation to bring in some returns (active income).

Perhaps the best example is business- if you choose to throw your money into a business, you’ll most likely need to become involved in its running to prevent unnecessary losses.

With that out of the way, let’s now have a look at some of the investments where you can invest 1 million shillings nowadays in Kenya….

How to invest 1 million shillings in Kenya – best investment options

So now here is how to invest 1 million shillings in Kenya:

1. Buy Shares/ stocks

Shares are so volatile, especially in our country.

The best option is therefore to open a portfolio account with the CEO of any stockbroker with a good reputation.

It’s renewable after every 90 days and the CEO will usually decide which counter to invest in and when it’s the right time to buy or hold stocks and even the best time to sell your shares.

He/she can even buy and sell the same stock over and over again with profit.

The best part about this arrangement is that even in the worst- case scenario, your initial investment will be safe and you stand a better chance of earning improved returns in the long run.

So, how do you go about it?

The thing is so simple: just go to any reputable stockbroker and ask them how to open a portfolio account with them.

You will be required to invest part of your money there –and you can put the rest in other investments.

There are many stockbrokers with a good rating you can go for including standard investments bank and Dyer and Blair if you’d like to try it.

2. Invest in Government Papers

You can also play safe by investing in government papers (treasury bills and bonds) –here you earn a fixed rate.

For starters, treasury bonds are secure, medium- to-long-term investments that typically offer you interest payments every six months throughout the bond’s maturity.

The other option is treasury bills and you can read how to invest in treasury bills in Kenya here (I have explained the difference between treasury bills and bonds in the article).

In short, you can invest your entire 1 million shillings in treasury bonds or bills or a mixture of the two and you will have a consistent flow of income each month for 20/25 years.

Remember the chances of the government defaulting are nearly zero so these two are very safe.

There is another type of bond you can choose to invest: Government infrastructure bonds (these are used by the government to raise money for its infrastructure projects- roads, railways, etc)

This bond type is tax -free and has a minimum annual interest of 12 % paid after every 6 months.

So if you go for it, your 1 million shillings (at 12% return rate) will give you 120k per year meaning that in 2 or3 years, the interest will be enough to buy you an eighth or a quarter plot somewhere.

And you still keep earning interest!

You can even distribute the amount across various government securities- that way, you’re diversifying your portfolio which is shrewd investment-wise instead of just investing in one area.

The only thing you need to note is that government securities are not always on sale so you have to keep checking the CBK website to know when they have been put up for sale (they are also advertised in the newspapers)

3. Unit Trusts

In unit trusts, investment and insurance companies invest in shares and there is no guarantee on returns unless the economy is very good and stable.

Bear in mind that unit trust has 3 products; money market, balanced fund, and equity fund.

The Money market fund is the safest (it has very low risk) and you get relatively good returns (7.5-10% for the most part) so it can be a good way of preserving the principal.

Plus, MMFs are very flexible- you can decide to pull out even in a week or after a few months.

Note that you earn interest daily and you can request for your account statement every month.

One of the most important things to consider when investing in MMFs is the company you put your money in- for example, CIC has an excellent track record.

Britam and Sanlam are also solid companies.

4. Buy land

Investing in land has many advantages as well and 1 million shillings is a good enough amount to start with.

You see, with land, you can sub-divide it into smaller pieces, for example, quarters, eighths, and sell it as smaller parcels to make more money instead of selling it as a whole.

The other alternative is buying land for speculation purposes.

In truth, land prices shoot within a very short period in some places.

For example, you can buy a piece of land today at 1 million shillings and by the end of the year, you sell it at even double the buying price.

In addition, if you’re looking at capital preservation, land is a long- term tangible asset that does not depreciate.

You can also build rental houses – you might have to do Mabati houses (it depends on where your land is) at the start but the good thing is they will be bringing something each month.

There are other ways you can make money from your land..

These are:

You can start farming -you could plant different vegetables and crops to sell and make money from them (depending on the soil and climate in your area).
Plant trees such as eucalyptus- these may take years to mature but the return is definitely worth it.
Lease it out- Furthermore, with land, you can rent it out for functions like weddings and concerts and make money.

These are just some ways to add value to your land and make more cash- there is definitely more you can do to earn from your land.

5. Buy Bitcoin (or other Cryptocurrencies)

If you’re a good risk- taker, you can even invest in cryptos.

By that, I mean digital currencies such as the Bitcoin and Ethereum (there are quite a few out there).

The good thing is the returns can be massive when the prices are appreciating.

For example, there was a time the Bitcoin rose from Ksh700000 to over Ksh1.7 Million in about 1 year (2017).

But beware: there again are no guarantees and prices can nosedive massively overnight.

That said, people have made money and with proper strategies, you can get some returns too.

To buy Bitcoin, visit websites such as Binance- there are a lot of tutorials there on how to get started so go through them first.

8 best ways to keep your Bitcoins secure

6. Start a business

With 1 million shillings you can invest in a business opportunity that will give you good returns in the future.

The good thing is when you start a business, it can be the starting point of your journey to becoming wealthy.

The point is with 1 million shillings, you are considered to be rich no matter when you got it.

And the best part is there are loads of high-earning businesses that you can start with 1 million shillings.

Here are a few of them:

Car dealership– you can start a car dealership business that sells used cars. You may have to start with just 2-3 cars but with time you can introduce brand new cars
Cosmetics– Also, you can start a cosmetics and beauty products manufacturing company which is yet another potentially viable business (considering the amount of money women spend on beauty).
Small construction firm– you can buy a few machines and tools and start biding for small construction jobs.
Quarry– A building stones quarry pays very well once you learn the ropes.

How to Invest 1 million Shillings in Kenya -Conclusion

That is how to invest with one million shillings in Kenya-and there are definitely more beautiful ideas out there you can go for with one million Kenyan shillings including trading in Forex.

All you need to do is get creative – and do some in-depth research.

Happy investing!