Top 10 Lucrative Business Ideas in Nigeria

How about starting a small business in Nigeria in 2018? According to research, the times of economic crisis and financial meltdown are the best periods to start a business. 

The good news is that you don’t need a huge amount of capital to start a successful small business in Nigeria. With great business ideas and a good execution strategy, you are on to a successful business venture.

You know you want to start something for yourself. You just need to funnel your ambition and time into an idea that will earn you extra cash, make you proud, and possibly lead to a full-time venture—and that amazing moment you get to say “I quit!” to your boss.

The cost of starting a business in this era of the internet and social media technology has greatly reduced. In this post, here are few validated business ideas you can start with almost no capital.

1. Uberpreneur – Driving for Uber

There are many different 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. An average Uber driver earns within 80,000 – 120,000 Naira a week.

Driving for Uber is one of the most lucrative business ideas in Nigeria right now. It does not only give you the opportunity to work when you want (including nights or weekends) but also give you the ability to earn some extra cash while doing so. While some drivers are doing this full-time, some only do it at nights after day job and on weekends.

2. Social Media / Influencer Marketing

Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook – Social Media is the Next Big Thing. These are platforms where Nigerians are making a load of cash just by sharing engaging contents and building a loyal followers list. This is a business idea you also need to venture into if you are crazy about social media.

Build up a following on any of this platform and you could quickly be approached by major brands, gear companies, and other relevant businesses that sell products or services related to the type of content you share. If you have hundreds of thousands of followers, you can easily charge anywhere between 15,000 – 50,000 Naira per post or more—which makes for a very profitable side business idea.

3. Web Design and Development

As a web designer or developer, you’ll build incredibly valuable skills that are in extremely high demand in the Nigeria market. You can get up to speed on building websites in as little as a few weeks by using a free tool like WordPress.

Aside from having the opportunity to work on your own schedule, you can make as much as 50,000 – 250,000 Naira per website project. If you looking to greatly improve your web development skills, Andela is a great place for you to start and acquire the knowledge you need.

4. Graphic Design

While having a formal background in graphic design is absolutely going to be helpful, it’s also relatively easy to learn the foundations of graphic design on your own using tools like Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.

But before you can start earning a living as a graphic designer, you’ll need to build your skills recommend and be creative in all your designs. I recommend showcasing your design skills on platforms such as Instagram and Facebook to earn a good customer base.

5. Freelance Content Development / Ghost Writer

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.

Companies in Nigeria 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. However, consider how much work it takes to make freelancing work your full-time gig.

6. Starting a Blog or Vlog

Think blogging is no longer a viable source of income? Think again. Tens of thousands of bloggers, creating content on topics as diverse as cooking, fashion, gossip, news, travel, film, and lifestyle. Starting a blog/vlog with a particular niche and focus on a particular set of individuals is a lucrative business idea with great potentials.

Your first step is sharpening your writing abilities, understanding what your audience craves and learning how to write a blog post that drives traffic and brings you readers on a regular basis.

7. 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 own 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.

8. Small Chops Food Business

Starting a small chops food 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 a 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.

9. Digital Marketing Agency

A digital marketing agency is different from your traditional marketing agency in that they are typically focused on results-based marketing in the digital world. Measurable marketing and ROI is the name of the game.

There are lots of average digital marketing agencies in Nigeria right now. Starting your own digital marketing agency does not require much capital all that is needed is the digital skills and experience to drive result for your customers.

10. Drop Shipping

This is a form of business that you can start with a 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 a lucrative business idea that has made 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 drop shipping business in Nigeria).

Conclusion

The business ideas shared in this post have been tested and proven lucrative in the Nigerian market especially for small businesses. But for you to succeed in any of the above-listed businesses, you need to have the right business strategy and ideology to starting a successful internet business in Nigeria.

Most especially when it comes to acquiring customers and keeping those customers over a long period of time. You need to be able to sell yourself and your ideas to the people that want to do business with you.