Income options with limited connectivity

8 options that fit

1. 1

   Home food or baking sold via WhatsApp and social media

   Take pre-orders for meals, baked goods or snacks via WhatsApp Business and Instagram, delivered or collected locally.

   • To start: R100 to R5 000
   • First income: about 14 days
   • No cold selling needed
   • Some evidence

   Why it fits: Customers can come through word of mouth and referrals, which you are comfortable with.

2. 2

   Reselling airtime, data and electricity

   Sell prepaid airtime, data and electricity to your community from your phone through vending platforms.

   • To start: R100 to R2 000
   • First income: about 7 days
   • No cold selling needed
   • Some evidence

   Why it fits: Customers can come through word of mouth and referrals, which you are comfortable with.

3. 3

   Reselling pre-loved items online

   Sell your own unused items, then source second-hand clothes, books or electronics to resell on Yaga or Facebook Marketplace.

   • To start: R0 to R2 000
   • First income: about 7 days
   • No cold selling needed
   • Some evidence

   Why it fits: Needs 2+ hours a week; you have 15.

4. 4

   Paid research studies and surveys

   Take part in academic studies (Prolific) and market research surveys for small payments.

   • To start: R0
   • First income: about 14 days
   • No cold selling needed
   • Some evidence

   Why it fits: Customers can come through work handed out by an app or platform, which you are comfortable with.

5. 5

   Collecting and selling recycling to buy-back centres

   Collect cans, plastic bottles, cardboard and paper from homes, businesses and events, sort them, and sell them by the kilogram to a buy-back centre.

   • To start: R0 to R1 500
   • First income: about 7 days
   • No cold selling needed
   • Some evidence

   Why it fits: Customers can come through word of mouth and referrals, which you are comfortable with.

6. 6

   Collecting and selling scrap metal

   Collect legal scrap such as old appliances, car parts and offcuts from homes and workshops, and sell it to a registered scrap dealer.

   • To start: R0 to R3 000
   • First income: about 7 days
   • No cold selling needed
   • Some evidence

   Why it fits: Customers can come through word of mouth and referrals, which you are comfortable with.

7. 7

   Local delivery and errand runner

   Deliver food, groceries, parcels and medicine for local shops, takeaways and households, and run errands such as queues and collections.

   • To start: R0 to R3 000
   • First income: about 7 days
   • No cold selling needed
   • Thin evidence

   Why it fits: Customers can come through word of mouth and referrals, which you are comfortable with.

8. 8

   Car boot sales and pop-up sales

   Sell household items, clothes, books and bits you no longer need, or bargains you find, from the boot of a car at weekend car boot sales and community pop-up sales.

   • To start: R0 to R500
   • First income: about 10 days
   • No cold selling needed
   • Thin evidence

   Why it fits: Customers can come through word of mouth and referrals, which you are comfortable with.

How we built this list: we run our scoring method on one common situation and show the options that pass every hard limit, best fit first. Your own answers will change it.