Nairobi · CBD · Gikomba · Kamukunji · Eastleigh
Errand services in Nairobi, run by someone who reports back
Post the errand — a pickup, a purchase from a market stall, a queue at a government counter, a gift that has to arrive today. A vetted runner does it, sends photos, and you pay by M-Pesa once it is done.
- Errands from
- KES 300
- Paid
- After, not before
- Signing up needs
- A phone number
Nairobi · live dispatch
Nairobi moves fast.
We move faster.
Four priced areas and 21 more out of the CBD and through the market belt — and anywhere else in the city on a quote.
- Nairobi CBD
- Gikomba
- Kamukunji
- Eastleigh
Services
What we run for you
Eight kinds of errand, priced separately because the work is different. Prices are what you pay for the running — the cost of anything bought is settled on top.
How it works
Four steps, no phone calls needed
From posting to paying, the whole errand lives on one page you can check at any point.
- 1
Post the errand
Pick the service, say where it starts and ends, add photos or documents, and see the price before you confirm. Send it now or schedule it for a date and time.
- 2
A vetted runner takes it
The job goes out to our runners, or straight to the one you named. You see their rating and how many errands they have completed.
- 3
Follow it as it happens
An SMS when the runner starts, live status on your errand page, and chat in the app if anything needs deciding mid-run.
- 4
Pay when it is done
The errand is completed, you get a text with the amount, and you pay by M-Pesa or cash. Nothing up front.
Coverage
Where we run errands in Nairobi
25 areas across Nairobi with a set price, and anywhere else in the city on a quote.
Nairobi CBD
The CBD is where the counters are: banks, government offices, courier depots, lawyers, phone and laptop repair shops, wholesale electronics on Luthuli and Tom Mboya. It is also where parking is worst and a twenty-minute task turns into two hours.
No area surcharge
Gikomba
Gikomba is East Africa's biggest second-hand clothes market and the source for most mitumba traders in the country — bales, shoes, kitchenware, fabric and furniture. It is also loud, crowded and hard to navigate if you are not there every week, and impossible if you are not in the country at all.
+KES 100 on the service price
Kamukunji
Kamukunji is where Nairobi goes for things made and sold in bulk: metal fabrication, jikos, boxes, hardware, plastics, school and shop supplies. Traders across the country source here, and the prices are worth the trip — if you have a day to make it.
+KES 100 on the service price
Eastleigh
Eastleigh's malls and shopping centres carry clothing, fabrics, shoes, electronics, perfume and household goods at prices that pull buyers from across the region. Much of the trade happens over WhatsApp with a photo and a till number.
+KES 200 on the service price
Why CityErrands
Sending a stranger to spend your money is a trust problem
Runners are onboarded, not self-signed
Admin brings runners onto the platform. Every completed errand is rated by the client, and those ratings are on show when you choose one.
Photos before money moves
Attach what the seller sent you; get back photos of what the runner actually found. On a market errand that is the whole game.
The price is on the screen
You see the full cost before you post. Nothing outside our named areas gets a runner until admin has quoted it and you have agreed.
Works on any phone
No app to install and no smartphone required for the updates — the important ones arrive by SMS.
Buying from Nairobi while you are somewhere else?
This is what most of our clients abroad and upcountry use us for.
You find a seller on Instagram or WhatsApp. They send a photo and a till number and ask you to send the money first. From another country there is no way to check any of it — and that is the gap a runner closes.
- Verify the shop in person from KES 300 before anything is sent.
- Buy from a named shop in Gikomba, Kamukunji or Eastleigh and have it delivered.
- Send a gift home on the actual day, wrapped and handed over.
Questions
What people ask before their first errand
What is CityErrands?
CityErrands is a Nairobi errand service. You post the job — a pickup, a purchase, a queue, a delivery — and a vetted runner carries it out and reports back. It covers the errands that need a person in Nairobi rather than a courier or an app.
How much does an errand cost in Nairobi?
Errands start at KES 300 for a pickup and delivery and go up with the work involved, to KES 3,000 for hiring a runner for a job that takes time. You see the full price before you post, and errands to or from an address outside our named areas are quoted by admin first.
How do I pay?
You pay once the errand is done, not before. When the runner completes it you get an SMS with the amount and where to send it — an M-Pesa till, or the runner directly by M-Pesa or cash.
Which parts of Nairobi do you cover?
Nairobi CBD, Gikomba, Kamukunji and Eastleigh are our named areas with set prices. Anywhere else in Nairobi is still possible: pick 'Custom location' when posting and admin quotes the job before a runner is sent.
Do I need a smartphone or an app to use it?
No app to install. The site works in any phone browser, you sign up with your phone number and a PIN, and the important updates also come by SMS.
Ready to hand over the running around?
Create an account with your phone number and a PIN, post the errand, and a runner picks it up from there.