In this post, we outline the top business ideas in Nigeria in a small scale basis. Some of them can be started with very little capital. It covers ideas that can help you make money online and offline. Happy new month!
The best part? You can run some of these business ideas from the comfort of your home! No need to worry about renting an office space.
Top Business Ideas in Nigeria That’ll Make You Money
1. Mini Importation
The internet has redefined trade and commerce. Many people have struck gold by importing items online through eCommerce sites like Alibaba, Aliexpress DHgate, global sources, etc. With about N100,000 or even less, you’re open for business.
Identify people’s demands. Search all the eCommerce websites, get a procurement agent to purchase these items. The agent will then send them to you to sell and make your cash.
Even with the falling value of the Naira, people who are engaged in this business still smile to the bank. Items you can import and many varied and may include: mobile phone accessories, cosmetics, fashion items, etc.
2. Cosmetics Production Business
If you love beauty, then going into the cosmetics business will be your best bet. For you to do well in this business in Nigeria, you will need to engage in some deep research.
Why is this important? This is because you will need to learn new things about the cosmetics industry that will keep you up to date, creative and innovative in business.
3. Tomato Farming Business
Agriculture offers one of the best cash chain investment in Nigeria today. This business is rewarding, and at the same time, not expensive to start up.
However, before you start the tomatoes business in Nigeria, you’ll need to find out what type of tomatoes are in demand. This information can be gotten from those who supply seeds, as they will be able to inform you better on popular demand.
Also, they will let you know the varieties that are patronized best. You will also need to ensure that the seeds you finally pick will grow well.
4. Plantain Chips Production and Sales
You have seen it everywhere – the delicious crunchy snack made from unripe plantain. Hawkers sell them along the highways. The catch is, you probably did not realize it is such a lucrative business in Nigeria.
You don’t need to be a UAC or Leventis Food to engage in the plantain chip business in Nigeria.
A small-scale plantain chip enterprise with an initial investment of fifty thousand is capable of returning N10,000 in profit daily. If you’re looking for business ideas in Nigeria with low capital, you should really consider this. It is a type of business you can start with 5,000 or even less.
You can start this right from your kitchen. Just place your brand name on the transparent nylon, and you’re good to go. You will need to get some coaching from someone already doing the business, learn some recipes and develop a supply chain both for your raw materials (plantain) and finished products.
5. Liquid Soap Production
The market for liquid soap in Nigeria is so large that the well-established brands are not meeting demand.
Every household in the country needs this product. So there will always be a demand for it. You just have to be the one supplying.
If you look around you, you will find homemade liquid soaps with no branding at all, packaged in used plastic bottles being sold for between N50 and N100. This is one of the major investment opportunities in Nigeria today. You can make so much money producing liquid soap and selling to supermarkets and other shops that retail to end-users, restaurants, bakers, caterers, and home keepers.
You may have to acquire some training that is available at vocational centers run by churches, government, and non-governmental organizations. Create a large market by branding and fine packaging and you will smile to the bank.
6. Rental Services
People constantly need things that they do not possess. Some of the things you can start contracting out includes chairs, canopies, vacuum cleaners, cutleries, cooking utensils, music box, ladder, etc. Once you are known to be engaged in this business in your environment, you may not be able to meet demand.
If you have an interesting range of expensive gadgets or equipment, you might consider exploiting them for side income businesses hiring them out on hourly use basis. If the business gets going, you can add more items as you discover what people like renting. Prepare a leaflet, advertise in a local newspaper or use social media to announce your services.
This particular business idea can be capital intensive sometimes and may require you to get a loan to start up.
7. Information Marketing
This is another internet-based business that has taken people out of poverty in Nigeria. Do you know anything that people don’t know, or know something that other people know but can present it differently or know someone who knows something that others may not know?
You may be on your way to making money by packaging the information in the form of a report, an ebook, video, or audio and sell online. Take note, you do not have to write it as there are many resources online to help you. You can outsource the writing on Fiverr & Upwork, buy master resell rights or private label rights books, rewrite and rebrand to your choice and sell.
8. Freelance Content Development / Ghost Writer
What business can I start with 5,000 Naira as a student? Do you consider yourself a wordsmith? Setting yourself up as a freelance content development could prove to be a side-hustle or maybe even a full-time job. This is one way to make money online as a student.
Companies such as media agencies, blogs, and startups will pay big time for someone who can write a clean copy of contents, whether it’s for advertisements, websites, or blogs. Some will even pay you for your editing services.
9. Food Cart/Mobile Food Business
Ask yourself this question – what sells fast in Nigeria? Food is one of the primary needs of man. Whatever the condition is with a man, he must eat. As a result, the food business will always be a lucrative business in Nigeria. It is one of the most thriving businesses in Nigeria.
The key to success here is to differentiate yourself by choosing a specialty menu, a niche, and a market segment. You cannot be everything to everybody.
Select your market carefully where the returns are higher. For example, you can choose to serve workers of big organizations like banks, oil and gas companies, and multinational organizations and develop a relationship with their HR departments to allow you to bring your food during their lunch or within specific hours of the day. You can add special delivery of specialty food to busy executives as part of your service.
This particular business can be capital intensive and so, you might want to get a loan to start up.
10. Small Chops Packaging
Starting a small chops packaging business is a lucrative business idea in Nigeria. Nigerians desire for light meals like small chops has greatly increased in the past years.
Aside from big events like weddings, funeral and birthday parties, small chops are also the preferred choice when gathering friends for a get-together, boat cruise and time on the beach.
The great thing about small chops is that even though there are a lot of people offering this service, there certainly won’t be a shortage of demand. The key to being a successful small chops business owner is creativity and packaging.
11. Uberpreneur – Driving for Uber
Many people ask, “What business can I start with 2 million Naira?” If this is you, then you might want to consider Uber. There are many reasons why people choose to drive with Uber.
Some do it for the freedom to drive when and where they like. They’re the boss, and they work for as long or for as little as they want, following a schedule that suits their needs. The average Uber driver makes between 80,000 – 120,000 Naira every single week.
Right now, Uber driving is one of the very lucrative business ideas in Lagos and a few other parts of Nigeria. It does not only allow you to work when you want (including nights or weekends) but also gives you the ability to earn some extra cash while doing so. While some drivers are doing this full-time, some only do it at night after the day job and on weekends.
12. Dropshipping
This is one of the new business ideas in Nigeria. It is a form of business that you can start with very low capital. What you need is your laptop or smartphone, internet data, and your social media platforms e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, etc. ( which could serve as your online shop)
This is one of the lucrative business ideas that has made people millions of naira. The secret of the business is identifying and knowing what the people need at the particular moment and knowing where and how to source for those items (AliExpress is a good place to start dropshipping in Nigeria).
13. Social Media Marketing
The Social media space has grown to be an important tool that can drive not only the visibility of businesses but also their profitability.
Indeed, some forward-looking companies now have social media strategy as a full-service function within their organization while some others outsource this service. This is why there is a growing need for people with social media marketing strategy and development skills.
Take advantage of this development to learn the tricks of using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Online Forums, Blogs to sell goods and services and offer this to the many individuals and corporate organizations, including SMEs yearning to launch into the digital marketing space and make money for yourself.
14. Film Production Business
Nollywood is one of the fastest-growing industries right now. Every often blockbuster movie is being churned out and those who are the helms of affair when it comes to film production are doing all they can to see that great movies are produced.
You too can join the bandwagon when you start a film production business. You do not need any qualifications to join the train.
15. Restaurant Business
In Nigeria, the restaurant business has always been on the rise. This means that it doesn’t go out of fashion. If you think that you are a great cook, you can start a restaurant business. You will be required to do a lot in the area of cooking very great meals.
16. Email Marketing Business
Over the next few years, the acceptance of e-mail marketing as a means of advertising is expected to grow and you can place your own company to take a substantial share of the market by starting your own e-mail marketing business now and offering your clients first-class services with proven results that would keep them coming back and referring others.
Email marketing companies help small, medium and larger businesses connect online with existing customers to promote the sale of goods and services.
Outsourcing email marketing services allow businesses to focus on other areas of business development.
17. Cake and Cupcake Bakery
Making, decorating, and selling one-of-a-kind cakes and cupcakes for occasions ranging from birthdays to weddings to anniversaries is a great business idea for the hobby baker to pursue, and one that is potentially very profitable.
You can get started on a shoestring budget by baking and decorating right in your kitchen. An effective marketing idea is to send samples of your cakes to interested parties to make sure they send business your way or showcase pictures of the cakes on Instagram using appropriate hashtags.
18. Graphics designing
This business might be the best for you if you have a background in art or probably have a flair for art. If you don’t have a background in art, you can take some courses on graphics design.
This business requires little capital to start. All you’d need is to start is get some design software such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Corel Draw
19. Ice block business
This business is booming because of the hot weather condition, which makes it necessary for people to look for cool water and drinks. The erratic power supply in the country has made this business to sell like a hot cake. If you venture into this, it will surely bring profitable returns.
20. Interior decoration
This is the art of decorating or designing a residential building or a commercial business according to your client’s preference.
If you have an expert eye for art and color, this business might be the best for you. Taking interior design projects will yield a high profit for you.
In Conclusion
Running a successful business in Nigeria largely depends on what goes down well with you. You should consider important factors like the area you are in and the demand for such a service. Most importantly, do something that you do not find burdensome, and offers a good profit margin compared to investment.
Let us know what you think about our 20 top business ideas in Nigeria in the comments section below
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See also: Top 10 Most Profitable Business Ideas in Africa
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