Homes

New co-working space in Mombasa

office

MombasaWorks coworking space. PHOTO | JOSIAH MWANGI | NMG

MombasaWorks has opened a coworking space on Avenue Building, one of the few in the coastal region.

Cindy Ondego, the founder, says co-working spaces are set to be popular with a growing community of social entrepreneurs, development and consultants who live and work in Mombasa.

“People previously worked from home or from coffee shops. But they cannot concentrate much as well as feel isolated working alone,” says Cindy.

The Mombasa coworking space is an open-plan office with areas for privacy and group work and wellness zones.

Cindy notes that renting a traditional office space usually requires signing long-term leases accompanied by a huge deposit. A coworking space provides flexible payments options with no need for signing leases or deposits thereafter managing efficiency in cash flow of start-ups.

“Whether one is a freelancer or an already established entrepreneur, they can rent or sign for membership from one day up to one month and experience other benefits like Internet, access to a shared printer, meeting rooms and free refreshments,” she says.

Co-working spaces are gaining popularity in Kenya because of their varied reasons.

For instance, entrepreneurs are looking to meet and interact with their peers. Thomas Ngugi, an information technology expert who has been working from a Nairobi-based co-working space since 2016 notes that the environment of working spaces is flexible.

“Coworking spaces offer opportunities of networking, meeting new people from whom you can gain entrepreneurial knowledge,” says Ngugi.

MombasaWorks’ space ranges from Sh5,000 to Sh15,000.

Unlike corporate workplaces, coworking spaces de-stressing areas with table tennis, air hockey, chess and a lounge area to relax and listen to music between working hours.

Cindy, a mother of two, says a co-working space is where ideas can be birthed and modelled into profitable enterprises and at the same time bring professionals into a one big family through a dependable network.