Walk through Nairobi’s city centre on any weekday and you’ll feel it — the weight of joblessness, the pressure on young people to “find something to do,” and the ever-growing hustle culture that has come to define life in the city. But hidden behind the noise, amidst the ageing buildings and narrow corridors of downtown, lies an industry that many Kenyans have interacted with, yet few truly understand.
It’s a printing economy that’s been built by everyday people — designers, machine operators, finishers, and brokers — who, without formal infrastructure or recognition, have created one of the most efficient and resilient value chains in the city. This isn’t something taught in business school. It’s a Nairobi-grown model born out of necessity, creativity, and sheer will to survive.
Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of working with many of these players. What I’ve seen is nothing short of extraordinary. You’ll find someone who has perfected the art of design in a small, dimly lit space. Down the hallway, another has invested in just one machine — but it prints non-stop. Around the corner, someone else trims, binds, or laminates with expert precision. Then there are the silent power-brokers — the ones who own no equipment but can get any job done through networks built on trust, referrals, and reputation.
This is Nairobi’s version of an industrial hub. It may not look like much from the outside, but it works — and it has quietly sustained thousands of livelihoods. Some may call it informal. I call it ingenious.
> From Content Makers to Career Creators: Story of Kenyan Digital Entrepreneurs
The beauty of this ecosystem is in its specialisation. Certain players handle design, others handle printing only. Some focus exclusively on finishing — trimming, lamination, binding — while others manage deliveries or client handling. It’s an entire city functioning within the city, held together by collaboration, adaptability, and word-of-mouth networks. It delivers.
What makes this even more remarkable is how little this story is told. Most national conversations on manufacturing or industrialisation rarely mention these printers. Yet these are the people printing campaign posters, wedding cards, church programmes, business signage, packaging. They’re not working with mega budgets or international tenders, but they are working — with speed, heart, and skill.
Imagine now if we simply enhanced this system, without disrupting its essence. What if these printers had access to training in accurate job costing and pricing — empowering them to better understand their margins, factor in real production costs, and avoid the pitfalls of undercharging? What if these small businesses could share resources like finishing equipment or coordinate on large-volume jobs across multiple shops? What if citywide support structures recognised this value chain as a critical part of our local economy?
This isn’t wishful thinking — it’s possible. In fact, we already have structured workflows in the global print industry, such as the prepress packaging workflow, which outlines every step from artwork reception to final plate imaging. These workflows offer lessons in quality control, standardisation, and efficiency that could be adapted to strengthen our local systems.
The most immediate and impactful intervention, however, lies in business training — particularly in areas like costing, customer management, and workflow planning. Many of these entrepreneurs are talented creatives and brilliant craftsmen, but without the proper knowledge in financial planning, they often find themselves working hard but earning little.
> Navigating the Legal Grey Zone of Platform Work in Kenya
The change doesn’t have to be top-down. What’s needed is support that respects the model already in place. Training programmes, affordable financing for equipment upgrades, policy recognition, and inclusion in national development plans could go a long way. We need to map this sector, formalise where necessary, and build a bridge between experience and opportunity.
Let’s stop treating this as a side hustle economy and start treating it as the industrial powerhouse it truly is.
If you’ve ever printed a business card, a banner, or a book in Nairobi, you’ve already benefited from this invisible network. Now it’s time we invest in its future — because beneath the grind of downtown Nairobi is a story of innovation, resilience, and opportunity that deserves to be seen, supported, and scaled.
Edward Mwasi, Media Industry, Strategy and Innovation Consultant, CBiT.
Leave a comment