Despite the current economic
downtown in Nigeria that is largely caused by the drop in the price of crude
and lack of policy direction of the present administration, there are some
sectors in the SMEs scale that are still making it real big in the country.
To tap into the sectors, you
must first of all drop the ‘certificate mentality’ which Nigeria is known for
and be ready to get ‘dirty’ and mingle with the so called ‘illiterates’ who are
playing big in those sectors.
The following are the areas
you can tap into, they require little or no experience, little investment and
with zeal and consistency, your reward is sure.
Food Business: Despite the
fact that people are crying of lack of money, it does not stop them from
eating.
This sector is so big that
you can play in any part of the chains-Food supply, farming (Poultry, Rearing
of Animal, etc). For example, in major cities like Lagos, port-Harcourt, Abuja
etc, the amount of eggs consumed in a day amounts to billions of Naira, yes I said
so, billions of Naira.
You can be a supplier of egg to bakery, eatery,
mallam who cook noodles by the roadside etc.
With 50 thousand Naira, you can start this and you are on your way to making it
real big. All you need for egg supply is not the money, it is the customers and
they are everywhere, just locate them and go to egg farm and buy in bucks and
supply them at a reduced price and make your profit daily.
You can also cook food,
package it, so as you can supply workers in their work place. My experience as
a worker in Lagos, Nigeria, shows that majority of offices don’t have food
canteen in big cities, most times, workers have to work kilometres to look for
lunch , you can bridge that gap. Just go to the offices, take their order a day
before, cook according to their menu and supply them. If your food is very
delicious and well packaged, you will be introduced to other companies by your
customers.
Barbing/Saloon: An average
man shaves his beard twice in a week and
barb his hair once in two weeks max. With a little space and a small generator,
you are on point already. Just be good with your craft.
As for the ladies, their
hair is crucial, they don’t’ joke with it, so the market is huge.
Buying and Selling: The
trick to buying and selling is that, you have to focus on what people cannot do
without, in order to be successful at this critical time in Nigeria, don’t deal
in luxury if you don’t have a lot of cash to tie down. Are you surprised why
Mallam AKA ‘Aboki’s shops keep attracting customers? It is because they sell
what people NEED not what they WANT. Model your business after that, although
in more sophisticated presentation and watch your business flourish.
Mechanic/Body shop: Nigerians
don’t joke with their cars, no matter how broke they are. If you are knowledgeable,
you will always make money. All you need is sincerity and truthfulness to
customers.
Transportation: The business
of transportation is a massive in big cities like Lagos, Abuja, PH, Ibadan,Aba
etc one, although the issue of harassment by touts known as ‘agbero’ is a big
problem, but there are many ways go about the business with little commitments .You can build a clientele who call you to
come pick them and drop them daily. Shop owners have people who drive them to
market and back; you can also assemble workers in an estate, especially the
ones who work in the same area or location, agree with time and meeting point
daily, take them to work every day and you get your pay at the end of the month
or every week depending on your agreement. You don’t need to paint your car in
commercial colour or be in a park, just network and have clients call you in a
rush.
Finally, don’t go into
business because everyone is doing it, go into it with a discerning mind
because some of the big shops you see around, don’t make half of the money the small ones
make especially this period in Nigeria, forget the fancy shops. Don’t wait for
a ‘white collar’ job, be and employer and don’t forget to start small. You will
be glad you did.
There still many well
researched businesses on my data base, but I don’t want this article to be excessively
long.
If you want detail
explanation of and more business idea and budget, send me a mail (bankingandfinancialtimes@gmail.com)
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