28/10/2026
This man did everything society told him to do. He studied hard. He went to class. He earned the papers. He was promised that education was the ultimate key to success. But the door remains locked.A truck driver recently pulled over to speak to a man collecting plastics on the roadside. The driver expected a brief, simple conversation. Instead, he found himself stunned.
The plastic collector spoke flawless, fluent English. He was articulate. He was sharp. And when the driver asked about his background, the man revealed a truth that shattered the driver's assumptions.
He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree. He holds a Master’s degree in Strategic Management.
Yet, his daily reality is collecting discarded plastics. For all that education, he earns a staggering KSh 30 a day.
Let that sink in. Thirty shillings. Barely enough for a single meal.
The Math of a Broken Promise
Thirty shillings a day means KSh 900 a month. In a country where the cost of living is skyrocketing, KSh 900 cannot cover rent, food, or transport. It certainly cannot repay the student loans or the family sacrifices that funded two university degrees.
This is not just a story about one man. This is a mirror reflecting the brutal reality of the Kenyan job market. We are producing thousands of highly educated graduates every single year, but the formal sector is not creating jobs fast enough to absorb them.
We are watching a generation of brilliant minds trapped in survival mode.
The Strategic Pivot
Here is the painful irony: this man holds a Master’s in Strategic Management. He knows how to analyze markets, optimize resources, and plan for growth.
Imagine if he applied that exact degree to the plastic collection industry. Plastics are a multibillion-shilling recycling industry. What if he moved from being a casual collector earning KSh 30 a day to becoming an aggregator? What if he partnered with recycling plants, bought plastic in bulk from other collectors, and negotiated better prices?