10 easy ways to make money as a university student in Uganda

 DISCLAIMER: I will be listing products that in the event you purchase, I stand to earn a commission off of it

As a university student myself, I know the struggles of trying to get by day to day on the pocket money given to you by a guardian or parent and sometimes it’s not enough to support your campus lifestyle. That is why I went out my way to find relevant ways for a Ugandan university student to make extra cash and live their best life

Making money isn’t as easy as getting a job anymore so we have to come up with unique ways to make ends meet and I have a few ways you could try to make yourself some money

1. Become a social media influencer and promote local businesses

If you have a big following on social media then I got the job for you. There are many small businesses out there in Uganda that you can approach and offer to market your social media profiles. Don’t wait for big brands to approach you and instead target the multitudes of businesses online who could use your help reaching their target audience. Now keep in mind not every business will be willing to  work with you regardless of your platform and also know a business is more likely to work with you if you are a target customer, so look for brands you would or already buy from. There are also platforms created to connect you with those who need your expertise the most 

2. Rent/Sell your old stuff 

Now this may seem a bit outlandish, but stick with me…. Do you have stuff lying around that is totally usable just not for you? Maybe an old bicycle, shoes you never wear, even your flat iron or hair curler. You just have to look through your stuff and find something you believe can make you money by renting OR SELLING it to your hostel mates or classmates. If you are looking for a platform to sell your products, I suggest Jiji which is completely free and easy to get started on.

3. Baby sits kids… or pets

Yep, you can babysit someone’s kid or pet for them, but that all depends on whether you are a kid person or an animal person. If you know young couples with kids, they may be your friends or relatives, do them a favor and babysit for them. Create rapport with people around and soon they could be recommending you to their friends. 

4. Sell your photos not on OnlyFans

Did you know you could get paid for your epic sunset pictures or outfit photos as stock photos online. Sites like Getty images, Shutterstock, Pexels and even Adobe stock pay people for quality stock photos of things as simple as a pair of high heels to an aesthetic shot of the architecture. Don’t sit on those photos that can have you earning up to $100/UGX 350,000 per image, all you have to do is sign up and start uploading those photos.

5. Become a paid tutor

Now let’s first, remove the restrictions of only tutoring your fellow classmates or specifically in your city and expand it to teaching English or other basic subjects you are knowledgeable about online to students around the world. There are several sites you can sign up and become a paid tutor on. You can even just use Jiji or Fiverr and post an ad saying you offer online tutoring and start earning as high as $40/hour, so get started now!

6. Get paid to type 

If you know you are basically a pro when it comes to typing, you should be getting paid for that. Offer your typing services not only to your classmates, but also online to other students who may be in Italy or Canada. People around the world are nowadays outsourcing these tasks to capable people online for outstanding prices as much as $1,000 just to type a simple CV. So, if you believe you have the speedy fingers to type up a CV for $1,000/UGX 3,500,000, then I suggest signing up to Fiverr to get started

7. Take paid surveys

My first time ever hearing about paid surveys was through my classmate, at the time, who told us how he was getting paid airtime by an app called Geopoll and all he had to do is answer simple questions. He told us to simply download the app from google play and sign up, I sadly didn't get the app till later on but can guarantee that I too earned airtime from doing surveys. If you don’t want to just earn airtime don’t worry, there other survey platforms working worldwide paying money for you to participate in simple 1-5 min surveys. Survey platforms like Triaba,  Swagbucks, Mobiworx, Toluna, Survey Now and many more ( article coming soon) pay people from $0.50-$5. 00 per survey.

8. Offer hair styling/plaiting or pedicures to fellow students

You may have the talent to turn our 4c hair into something more than a shrunken afro on our heads then you should be getting paid to do that ESPECIALLY if you live in a hostel. Take advantage of your location and turn your hostel room into a mini salon during your free time. I would suggest offering more affordable pricing in comparison to your more established competitors nearby AKA salons.

9.  Sell easy snacks like sandwiches and crisps

In high school, I had a friend who would sell minced meat sandwiches at UGX1,000 every morning to my classmates and I. I believe she would carry about 12 sandwiches a day and always managed to sell them and it's all because she noticed most of our classmates came from home without eating breakfast so we craved something to kill the hunger till break time. I believe this too can be applied in University. You could start with a simple sausage sandwich made in a frying pan or a sandwich maker, if you are lucky, and as your side hustle grows into a business upgrade the sandwiches or offer more products. Again, aim to price it affordably so that people feel the benefit of buying your sandwiches over going to a nearby restaurant or canteen.

10. Make something beautiful, but useful and sell it

If you know how to crochet or sew or carve or bead or construct, then you should be earning from it. There are people right now getting paid to crochet bags and bralettes for a living or selling their own cool handcrafted wooden furniture and you are here reading this article instead of starting now! Get your needle or hook or hammer and turn that skill into a living. If you are worried about where to sell it well, I have 3 options for you:

• Jiji

• Jumia deals

• Facebook marketplace

Now don't complain next time your parents give you little allowance money and get to work!

If you try any of these 10 ways, feel free to leave a comment sharing your experience or leaving a review. I hope you manage to make money using any one of these ways as a university student in Uganda.

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