Nigeria, the Giant of Africa. The youngest country in the world with over 90 millions of people under age 18. Total population in 2023 – over 224 millions of people!
But Nigeria is also country which imports most of it’s goods from other countries, which imports most of commodities from China, Europe and the US instead of manufacturing inside of the country.
Nigeria is also one of the lowest human-developed countries in the world (Nigieria HDI rank is 161 out of 189 indexed countries).

With such a human potential it would be a brilliant decision to boost Nigeria’s economy and to fill in the gap in unemployment by simply creating all necessary infrastructure inside of the country instead of exporting all the things from abroad.

IT IS THE RIGHT TIME TO GIVE NIGERIA GOOD BUSINESSES!

2023 is the right time to boost nigerian economy and make Nigeria the strongest superpower in Africa!
Read business ideas below, choose the best one for you and work hard to give wealth to you, your families and your country!

#1 small no-budget businesses for start

1 .Start loaning on interest

Loaning on interest can be very popular in Nigeria, because most of people need money there.
So if they will not lend money from your small business – they will take credits from any foreign banks which will treat them mercilessly, and credits will have very high interest percent (sometimes up to 100%!).

The key of loaning business is trust, relationship, and network. Best place for loaning business might be your local market, In every market there is many small sellers, who very often need to borrow money, to pay their debts, or to invest it. Every market is some kind of network, people know each others there, so you can try there. You can do your loaning business in more than one market.

Just imagine: You lend 100$ on 10% for one day. You have 10 clients in one market everyday. And you do your loaning business in 3 markets. So you can earn daily 10x10x3$ = 300$ daily.  To earn daily 300$ you need only 3000$ (to loan it to others). So let’s say you are loaning everyday for one month like this. 300$ daily X 20 working days = 300$ x 20 = 6000$ of income in one month!! That’s a really good money made out of only 3000$.

how to start? Just go to the nearest market with some cash and go to everyone seller there and ask friendly and seriously “do you want to loan on interest 5% per one day?” You can start your loaning business even with only 100$ or 10$. All you need is trust relationship and network. And of course your will to earn money 🙂
The easiest way to start it are short term loans on interest (loan paid after 1 day – or 1 week ,with not too high interest percent like 5%-10%).

2. Start micro-farming

•  Micro farming is very simple, cost 0$ to start it and everyone can do it!
• Production of your mini-farm will be always useful. You will either sell it or eat it (so you will save money cause not need to buy food if you already have yours food)
• Take your produced food and go to the local market, or start your own food-stall in any good place
• Tell your neighbours that you sell your own food products – they will start to come to you with money to buy what they need

The best things to Cultivate in Nigeria: 

-Vegetables : Carrots, Onions, Leeks, Spinach, cucumbers, Cabbages, Garlic, Pumpkins, Capsicums, Lettuce, potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc
-Fruits: Bananas, Mangos, Pineapples, Papaya, Passion fruits, Coconuts, Citrus Fruits, Tomatoes, etc
-Poultry:5-10 or more chickens/layers – you can sell their eggs and they always can be sold for meat
-Goat Rearing: 2-5 animals – you can sell it for meet, and you can also sell their milk which is very healthy.
-Cows – one cow can produce a lot of milk, you can always sell it for meat.
-Fishes – you can go fishing in nearby river or sea, or you can build small pond in your garden (just dig 5 meter wide and 150cm deep hole in your garden, and put solid foil / cement/ to the bottom and around your pond – so water will stay inside. Your own pond can be good way to ear money in many ways.
-pig farming

if you want to know more about pig farming check out Is Pig Farming Profitable Business? 2019 Market Analysis

3. Start mini-kindergarten in your home

Every year there is around 5 millions of babies born in Nigeria. Anyone need to take care of them. You can take care of your neighbours children if you stay in home or you can go to their home or take their children to your home. Some kind of small kindergarten.
Child care centers are a viable business opportunity in Nigeria. Due to the increasing rate of insecurity as a result of abusive house helps or baby peddlers, more parents are deciding to go with taking their children to child care centers. Also, the busy and hectic daily schedules of many parents have made this business even more profitable.
If you stay home and take care of your children you can also care in the same time for 5-10 other children of your neighbours. This can give you nice money.

4. Start small business focused on tourists

If there is many tourists in your area you can offer them products like:
–souvenirs from Nigeria (like a fridge magnets with pictures of Nigeria or traditional African masks)
just take all the small souvenirs and expose them to tourists in any popular place. You can expose them on any table, soil or ona a bike cart. All tourists like to buy souvenirs. If your souvenirs will be beautiful, everyone will like to buy them.
–beach sale if you  are near to sea start selling snacks and food and souvenirs to tourists on Nigerian beaches
–small sale of useful items like tissues or drinks or chewing gums
–vending cart or bike cart business sale – you can sell nearly everythin on your bike cart. Read more about bike cart ideas in this BusinessNES article .

5. Start Snail farm 

• All you need to have, to start snail farm is a small part of wet ground which is fenced so snails can’t flee, and are protected so are impossible to be eaten by wild animals
• You can prepare food out of your snails and sell it tothe  locals. Snail meat is very healthy, contains a lot of proteins and is very good for slim, fit body because does not contains unhealthy fats!

You can find good edible snail species in Nigeria in many natural places like among natural grass or wet swamp plants. Look for Archachatina marginata  or Lissachatina fulica. If can’t find them in Nigerian grass you can easily buy them in internet. 

If you buy 100 giant African snails, after a couple of months you will have 100 times more – around 10,000 young snails. When they lay their eggs they usually lay 100-200 eggs.
As you can see giant African snails are multiplying extremly quickly.
Nigerian climate is perfect for snail farms.

After your snails are big enough you just sell them to any snail buying office, or you start your own or you start your own snail office and export your snails abroad.

Before starting snail farm check your local law and see if you need any licenses to start snail farm.

6. Start Microbrewery

• Beer production is cheap and you can start with small amounts of produced beer
• You can sell beer to your local bars, shops and neighbours

The trend for microbreweries has spread from the USA and Europe. Although some data say there are any microbreweries in Nigeria, it still only represents a  little % of total consumption. The average Nigerian is a beer-lover, but the general offer is very bland and uniform: most beers have the same taste; and this is generating a demand for more quality and variety. This situation offers opportunities for well made crafted beers. With time you can develope your brewery into something big.

7. Start mini-shop with fresh fruit juices 

You need to sqeeze juice out of your fruits and pack it in clean cups/ bottles. Keep your juices in cold place so they are drinkable for a longer time.
This are the best fruits to make juice out of them:
-pineapples
-lemons
-oranges

8. Start mini-shop with prepared food to buy

Sell for example:
– ice creams
-popcorn
-kebabs
-bread
-food in jars
-freshly sandwiches
-cakes
-chocolate
-sweets
-french fries

9. Agricultural  Value Addition 

There is a big demand for food in Nigeria and it has made the agrobusiness an extremely lucrative  idea. You can make a lot of money by value addition to agricultural products. For example you can turn milk into yoghurt, flavored milkshakes, cheese, etc. Some ideas:
-cheese fabric
-you can turn meat into sausages
-water into flavored water
-vegetables into jar vegetable salads
-and many many more

10. Start local shop

We all go to the nearest local shop to buy domestic things we need everyday in our homes – food products, drinks, newspapers, sugar, salt, soap, rice, beans, all the things we use in homes everyday etc

11. Sell cosmetics.

• Sell cosmetic sponges, makeup colors, powders, beauty pencils, lipsticks and many many more things that all women in Nigeria need.
• Search what make-up trends are new in USA and Europe (search trends on YouTube and Google)

Buy cosmetics in web for example in Alibaba.com and sell them in your small store.
(read link how to buy items in alibaba)

All you need to do is just search for good offers on Alibaba and buy for example 100 cosmetic sponges for 20$ (yes they are really cheap). Then sell your cosmetic sponge like 5$ per one sponge.
If you sell all 100 sponges you get 500$ so minus 20$ you paid for sponges you can earn 480 $ on it!

12. Start sewing and tailoring

• Produce your own materials and sell in market and in internet
• Start your own clothe brand

Everyone needs
-clothes
-tablecloths
-curtains
-caps
-clothes for children

13. Start private security firm

• Rich Nigerians need bodyguards
• Sometimes local politicians and businessmen like to hire private security firms to protect them or their neighbourhoods.
• Some shops need good bodyguards

How to start? Setup your own security firm with friends or peple you trust. You can do this by hiring and training able bodied men and women, then deploying them to companies that need them for protection of important infrastructure. Although this business has to be licensed by the stipulated authority, it is a great way to make cool cash. 

Start internet websites connected with Nigeria. There is lack of many types of websites. Start websites similar to that which are popular in the US or in Europe. Needed website categories: News, local informations, gossips, showbusiness, business and economy sites, tips for Nigerians, educational sites , entertainment sites, social sites for young Nigerians (who are very familiar with internet).
Website business will be more lucrative every year, because internet is getting very popular and affordable in Nigeria.

14. Connect students with tutors

There is many students who need tutors in Nigeria. Start website that connects them, and help them find each other.

15. Web store with inspirating and exciting nigerian stories

So many interesting and amazing things happens in Nigeria everyday. Start a website with best of them. People will love to read it. It will be attractive also for foreign readers.

16. Work portal

Platform where users can transparently share information about their jobs, such as salary opinions and their work experiences.

17. Nigerian internet shop 

There is many small producers and manufacturers who want to sell their products. Because internet is getting more and more affordable and popular in Nigeria every year site like that would be very popular business to start. You could build the next Nigerian “Ebay” or “Alibaba”.

Read also: Software Ideas for Africa 25 Innovative Ideas

18. Secondhand marketplace / market

marketplace for selling secondhand items

19. Soap making

There is without doubt a very large and expanding market for soaps. Soaps are products manufactured from chemicals and are used for either bathing or washing of clothes, plates, cars and even glass windows. This industry is still expanding and there is more than enough room for new soap makers to come in and market their stuff. So if what you see is a simple business in the chemical industry that can fetch you steady income, then you should think of going into the business of soap making.

How to make soap? It’s very simple: you require three ingredients to become soap: oil (animal or vegetable oil, not petroleum-based oil), water and lye. These three ingredients, mixed together in correct proportions, combine and chemically change into soap – a process called “saponification”.
It is really simple you just need to heat the oils in your soap pot until they’re approximately 90-95 degrees Fahrenheit or 32-35 degrees Celsius. Slowly add the lye-water mixture and blend the soap until it thickens to “trace”. After the mixture reaches trace, you add your fragrance, color, and additives and pour it into the mold.

20.  Repair mobile phones

• change broken screens and displays
• sell phone chargers and headphones

Everyone is using phones today. So everyone sometimes needs technical help. You can learn and acquire excellent phone repair skills. These skills can in turn be used to generate income for you by providing phone repair services for your clients.

21. Connection center

• some people need to use internet
• some need to work on computer
• some people need to use phone, to call to someone

In connection center people will pay you for using internet, computer, wifi, or for using your phone to call. This might be very lucrative business in poor areas with no internet and poor connection.

22. Electric batteries charging station 

Mobile Phones Batteries Charging – power bank station.
There is lack of electricity in many parts of Nigeria. Sometimes people need to quickly charge their phone or computer. Start a Phone charge station, so everyone knows, if they must charge their phone quickly – you can always sell your energy.
All you need to start it is just one two three or five solid powebanks (which are possible to buy in internet). You just charge them and then others pay you for charging using your powerbanks in your station.

23. Printing and Photocopying point

All you need to have is a good printer and a computer.  Many people especially in cities need to print or copy some documents and pictures. You can also sell some office accessories in that point:
-pencils
-pens
-paper
-notepads
-paper sheets

24. Vehicle Repair

If you like cars and you know how to repair them it might be great business! Everyone with car need a mechanic!

25. Become a Taxi Driver

If you have a car you can start to work as a taxi driver!
All you need to do is to make your car clean and nice inside.
It might be very useful to put on the top of your car banner with word “taxi” so everyone can see you.

26. Motorcycle taxi

Some people just need quick transport. Motorcycle is the best to do it!

27. Carpentry

• to start carpentry you need onlu a piece of wood and a good chisel (costs 10$)
• you can earn a lot of money when you sell your wooden products
• people can offer very high prices for beautiful furnitures

Carpentry is one of the best ways to earn real money out of nothing.
All you need to start carpentry is WOOD. You can find wood everywhere, and take it even from your garden or buy it for little money. You will also need a chisel which is pretty cheap.

How to start? Just think for a moment what can be made out of the wood you already have. At the beginning start with making simple furniture like simple chairs or tables. With time you will learn how to make new, more sophisticated furnitures. When your furniture is finished lacquer everything to make it shining like a diamond.

28. Jewelry Producing

• You can try to make your own jewelry. You think it’s very difficult? Not really. You just need to have some plastic metals like silver and beautiful stones, or fake diamonds. If you like to produce artistic items this might be business for you.
• You can also buy you jewelry in internet and then resell it inthe  local community

29. Billboard business

If you are leaving in city you can build billboards in your garden to sell your billboard space to local businessmen to promote their businesses, or for local politicians, or even a big Nigerian and international companies might be interested to rent your billboard space to.

Build as huge billboard as you can. Remember that billboard must be visible to many people.

30. Create popular internet account on Twitter and sell it for many $

Easy way to make money out of nothing. All you have to do is following peoples who post posts with hashtags #follow4follow #follow #followback. When you account is bigger than 10,000 followers you can sell it in internet, or people can start paying you for promoting them.
You can also try the same on Facebook and Instagram.

Another type of business sector is making money online. Read more below, to know how to earn $10,000 per month as a freelancer or as a blog owner. Yes, it is possible.

#2 Medium-budget businesses

31. Tourist shop

Sell many different types of souvenirs, many small nice items like sunglasses and useful things

32. Start restaurants beach bars and bars in Guinea Bay seaside

Toursits like to sit in bars and chill and spend there their money

33. Food Trucks

The food-truck trend has arrived in Brazil and is here to stay. It all started in São Paulo where it quickly became one of the city’s attractions and several other Brazilian cities are enacting specific legislation to control the sale of food from these vehicles parked on the street. The ever increasing cost of premises in city centres has fanned the growth of this business in which a food truck is an attractive and profitable business model with a relatively low initial outlay for mobile premises. This is still a young business with good prospects for the future. However, and before you take any steps in the market, it is advisable to check the legislation applicable in the cities in which you intend to set up.

34.Start a mini bank

Your mini bank will give loans with interest. To be more safe and to not have problems with clients hire workers and a bodyguard who help you to take money back.

35. Start cosmetic shop

Buy cosmetics in web for example in Alibaba.com and sell them in your small store. Buy sponges makeup colors powders and pencils and lipsticks and so on.
(read link how to buy items in alibaba)Large Scale Farming

36. E-Learning

Nigerians still need a lot of education and new actual knowledge. Agricultural knowledge, lifestyle knowledge, health knowledge, economical knowledge, and so on. You can offer it for them in E-Learning website or app available for all Nigerians.

37. Mini-manufacture of soup

38. Cement Manufacturing

39. Brick Moulding business. Shop with building materials. 

40. Start private kindergarten / child care center

41.  Solar panel sales and Repair

42. 3-D Printing

43. Repair of mobile devices saloon

44. Public housing

Nigeria is in a great need of a renewed infrastructure.
The demand on commercial, administrative and private buildings is huge and there are plenty of promising projects for investors like building roads, air and water ports, etc. Build small cheap house and make it look beautiful. Sell it much more expensive.

45. Bottled water

business you won’t regret – everybody in Nigeria needs to drink water and bottled water production is very lucrative because people feel it’s cleaner and healthier for consumption.

importing foreign goods – there is not many good Nigerian brands, the more popular brands are foreign ones. You can import clothes, cars, ellectronics, and so on.

46. Internet service provider

A large percentage of Nigerians use mobile phones and computers which of course need to be connected to the internet. Companies and business owners also make use of the internet and so does schools. People are always looking for good internet service provider with fast services at cheap rates. If you feel that you have something better to offer than what Nigerians already have access to, I will say “Go for it” but remember, this is a business for people with deep pockets. If you don’t have enough capital, you should consider looking for people who do to partner with you.

47. oil export and oil import

There is a lot of oil in Nigeria, so if you can get license it might be great business to start exporting Nigerian oil.

48. Telecoms business 

49. Luxorious hotels and bars and holiday complexes in Nigerian seaside of Gulf of Guinea

Nigerian seaside is very attractive to tourists. Build hotels and holiday complexes.

 50. Rice cultivation.  

Rice remains the most consumed food in Nigeria but it is mostly imported from China!!
Start Rice cultivation in Nigeria. This business is really great idea, because Nigerian climate and weather is just perfect for Rice.

 51. Private solar power plant

There is not enough electricity in Nigeria. Every power plant should generate money.

52. Wind power plant

Every kind of energy is extremely needed by Nigerian society.