As the Covi-19 pandemic enters the third year, some young entrepreneurs have defied the odds to set up a thriving businesses.

Juliet Muranga 25, graduated at the height of the pandemic in 2020, after the long lockdown, tried looking for a job but nothing came out, and that’s when she started slowly selling beauty products.

She started out by buying them from a wholesaler and selling them to people in her social circles, two years later, her customer base has grown, and imports the goods from Dubai.

“The past two years have been hard, I couldn’t get a job after school then I joined business, but from the look of things I have decided to close the job searching chapter and concentrate on growing my business,” said Ms Muranga.

For Runuya Johnson at 19, during the first lockdown, he started baking cakes as a pastime activity thanks to the basic baking skills he had acquired during a prior internship he had in a bakery as part of his Cambridge graduation requirement.

When the pandemic struck, he needed something to occupy him as well as earn him some money, he started using family groceries as ingredients at home to bake cakes.

Mr Runuya then went to YouTube to improve and refine his baking skills and with school coming to a standstill; he concentrated on baking all sorts of cakes, which he slowly started selling to his peers as well as other people in his contacts.

He opened Instagram and twitter accounts, which he used to market his cakes and in no time, orders started coming through his phone constantly and occupying all his waking hours.

He started baking and delivering birthday cakes, cupcakes, fruitcakes embossed with strawberries and other fruits and desserts to people’s doorsteps using a motorcycle delivery service.

His clientele grew during the pandemic, and he ventured into wedding cakes. He is now better known as Johnson 'The Baker' on social media where he is reputed as the go-to person for quick and delicious cakes.

As business flourished, 'The Baker' transformed the guest room at home into a production center and kitchen complete with a college intern from the department of culinary arts whom he trained.

He has since bought equipment including three ovens, he can now bake at least 40 or more two-kilo cakes a day, and they all sell out, he has expanded his working space.