16 Small Scale Business Ideas In Nigeria and How to Get Started

Imagine all you needed to be financially free in Nigeria is a little business and most businesses don’t even require capital to get started. I know this sounds somehow but it is the truth!

Here are high-income small scale business ideas in Nigeria to get started with little to no capital.

1. Sales of Gadget

The business of Gadget dealing is really a lucrative business in Nigeria, in the sense that most of these gadgets are necessary to facilitate our day-to-day activities.

Let’s take Kitchen Gadgets as a case study. To start the sale of kitchen Gadgets in Nigeria, mechanical gadgets are a better option. 

This is because it takes little capital to set up the sale of mechanical gadgets. Start with the sale of the most needed kitchen mechanical gadgets such as spoons, spatula, chef’s knives, chopping boards, pots, mortar, and pestle, etc 

The above-listed gadgets are the most needed in Nigeria without which cooking and eating of food become difficult. Also, you are bound to have a quick turnover when you venture into the Sales of Kitchen Gadgets business. 

However, starting the sale of Electronic Kitchen Gadgets requires more capital resources to set up and also requires a good business site, and a warehouse in order for the seller to get quick turnovers. Another Gadget business one can start in Nigeria is the sale of Phone Gadgets and Accessories. 

In this present century, the use of mobile phones, laptops, and computers has become common among people, and Nigeria is not left out too. The need for phones and laptops keeps increasing as the world is turning into a more modernized environment. 

Students need mobile phones and laptops to perform assignments and projects given to them in school, businessmen also need these gadgets to exhibit their products to their customers online. 

The sale of Phone Gadgets is a business you can start on a small scale and make good profits from it if your business site is good.

2. Catering Services

Catering services is another small Scale business one can start in Nigeria.

It takes a low capital to actually start the business although you will have to learn most of the skills needed to facilitate the business.

As a caterer, you are going to be earning from another source apart from earning from using your personal skills and manpower.

You can also earn from apprenticeship fees, that is earning from tutoring people in your line of business.

Sometimes, catering services range from baking cakes, and snacks and cooking foods for events to decorating event venues for occasions.

Catering Services are among the most needed skills needed in Nigeria today for every occasion or group gathering ought to find a caterer to take care of their diets.

3. Social Media Marketing

This is simply the act of promoting someone else’s product on social media, in return, you get an agreed percentage share from the sale of any product made through you (your social media handles).

This agreed percentage share you earn is called Commission.

Social Media Marketing does not really require much capital to start it, you can actually start some of them for free without spending any money.

Imagine a situation where you earn more for promoting someone else’s products on your social media handles without spending a dime on the transaction, isn’t it amazing?

The interesting thing about Social Media Marketing is that the profit and loss of the business do not affect you, the social media marketer. You earn a commission for every product sold through you.

Social media Marketing saves you the time and energy you should have spent if you are not marketing on social media.

Most businessmen adopt this social media marketing because you tend to reach more people on social media even without you moving about to promote products.

4. Printing Press

Printing Press is the act of writing past and present events recorded on paper in a printed form.

Before the internet became more common in Nigeria, the printing Press is the most reliable source to get past and present event records.

The printing of news and events in a newspaper still remains the authentic way to get up-to-date happenings.

Although the printing Press is somewhat outdated in Nigeria, To get more authentic updates online becomes difficult due to false information being common online.

Also, a newspaper in Nigeria costs One hundred and fifty Naira(₦150) and contains many pages of news and events records, but you cannot use a data subscription of the same amount to read such huge information online, your data subscription will be exhausted.

At times, when you click to see the full details of a topic online, it may direct you to another page different from what you are looking for.

Therefore, the printing Press still remains the most reliable source to get the authentic information.

To set up a printing Press business, you just need to buy a printer, a bundle of paper transcripts, and a laptop, then you can start earning whenever you sell any of your printed information.

5. Car Dealership

Car Dealership is the buying and selling of all kinds of cars and their spare parts.

In Nigeria, the demand for car spare parts keeps on increasing as people buy different cars every day.

Most dealers of car spare parts are located in Nnewi, Nigeria. This is because it is one of the most recognized places to buy spare parts. It is often referred to as The Japan of Africa because of the availability of every spare part in the Nnewi market.

We recommend setting up your car dealership in Nnewi for you to get quick sales.

One can actually start by selling some of the small car spare parts such as bolts, nuts, fan belts, bulbs, plugs, etc. These are small spare parts one starts with for easy sales and quick turnovers.

6. Poultry Farming

Another business you can start on a small scale is Poultry Farming. You can start poultry Farming with as little as twenty (20) domesticated birds.

It has been discovered that over Five(5) Million birds are killed annually in Nigeria for consumption. Poultry Farming is the type of business that one earns from more than one source.

Apart from earning from selling the birds your rear, you can also earn from selling their eggs (if they are layers), and you will still earn from selling their excreta which is used as manure for crops.

In poultry Farming, you don’t need to be purchasing the bird’s feed all the time as birds are omnivores. They can feed even on food particles.

7. Running a Restaurant

Running a Restaurant is also a good business in Nigeria. It deals with the needs of man to survive. No matter how hard the economy is, people must eat food in order to survive.

Running a Restaurant is also a branch of catering services. In Nigeria, a restaurant owner is also booked to take care of food on occasion. One can start by cooking one type of dish at the beginning of running a restaurant.

One can run a restaurant on a small scale by renting a truck to carry your products and a kiosk for your customers to stay and eat food. These types of restaurant owners are usually referred to as Mama Put in Nigeria.

One advantage of Running a restaurant is that once your food is delicious, you tend to have plenty of customers. From running a Restaurant as a mama put it, you can extend your branch as time goes on.

8. Hair Salon

A hair salon is also among the needed skills in Nigeria, for without them, people’s hair becomes bushy and unkempt.

In order to look tidy and kempt, people have to barb or plait their hair periodically. One needs to learn the skills first before starting a hair salon of his own.

Starting a hair salon only requires just hair clippers (for barbing salons), you don’t actually need electric power for there are rechargeable clippers nowadays.

In the case of the hair-making salon, you only need a stool or a bench(for your customers) and combs, other than the handwork you have acquired to start up on a Small Scale.

Running a hair salon, you are not associated with loss, you only have profits because the tools you bought to aid you in your work are a one-time purchase. You don’t need to buy new tools regularly to attend to your customers.

9. Fashion Designing

Fashion Designing is actually a business you need to learn the skills first before you can start on your own just like in a Hair salon.

This industry has become popular in Nigeria because of its glamour and glitz.

To learn this skill, it is advisable to stay for at least six months in the apprenticeship school for every potential fashion designer.

After you have graduated from the apprenticeship school, you just need a sewing machine, a set of needles, scissors, and measuring tape. These are the basic tools needed in the fashion design industry.

In the South Eastern part of Nigeria, most occasions require traditional wear, and these traditional wears are sown by fashion Designers with different styles.

10. Laundry

The need for Laundry Services in some parts of Nigeria is rising especially in the capital cities.

This is because civil servants are mostly found in urban cities and they do not have to do their laundry because of the nature of their jobs.

They (civil servants) rely on the launderers to take the stress of laundry out of their hands.

To set up a small-scale laundry service office in Nigeria, you only need a pressing iron, a source of water, and a table. You can forget about buying a washing machine, you can use your hands to do the washing.

Laundry services do not necessarily require learning the skills in apprenticeship schools, the skills are learned automatically while growing up as a child.

Laundry service skills such as the washing of clothes, drying, and ironing of clothes are learned in Nigerian homes.

11. Web Development

Web development is among the newly introduced skills in Nigeria, so you will have the privilege of being among the pioneer web developers in Nigeria.

The demand for web developers keeps on rising in Nigeria as people needs website for their businesses to promote their products.

Web development is actually a skill that does not require renting an office, your room can serve as your office.

Web Development does not require any hardware tools to work only your laptops or a set of computers.

Web development is very portable because you can move your work equipment easily from one place to another.

12. Bead Making

Bead Making is the act of using beads to make local bracelets, necklaces, waist beads, and crowns in a unique way. These locally made beads have a symbolic meaning in different parts of Nigeria.

In the South Eastern part of Nigeria, it signifies a titled person. Waist beads are used to beautify young females. Although, we are now in a more modernized generation the demand for beads keeps increasing as people take traditional titles annually.

Bead Making does not need any technical training or a workplace for it to take place, your room is more than enough place for you. The Hausa people in Northern Nigeria and some parts of West Africa are particularly known for dominating the bead trade.

The Hausa-Fulani tribe in the northern part of Nigeria is known for making handcrafted beads with rich and unique styles.

13. Cassava and Yam Farming

Cassava and Yam farming is one of the most common foods widely eaten all over Nigeria. Almost every family indulges in this type of farming.

One can start Cassava and Yam farming on a small scale and still earn from the proceeds for its uses are unlimited.

The northern part of Nigeria is known for Yam farming because of the availability of vast land to farm while the South-Eastern part is known for cassava farming.

One can start farming on a half plot of land as a peasant farmer, and the tools are not to be bought for you can easily use the tools your ancestors used in their Era.

One advantage of cassava and Yam farming is that even in famine, you can depend on your farm proceeds to survive.

14. Gaming Center

Running a Gaming Center is really a lucrative business in Nigeria. Nigerians are still trying to adapt to having fun on their holidays.

To Open a video gaming center, you just need to purchase the game decoder and television once and earn whenever your customer plays a game on it.

Running a Gaming Center on a small scale, Due to the unsteady supply of electricity in some parts of Nigeria, one may need to buy a generator to ensure the steady availability of electric power in his gaming center.

15. Content Creation

Another business one can start on a small scale is Content Creation. Many Nigerians involve in creating content and earn massively from it.

There are many branches you can explore in content creation ranging from creating comedy videos to entertain people, tutorial videos on how to prepare different dishes, and many other contents you can create.

Content Creation on a small scale, you can start with your smartphone to record your content and post it on your social media handles to get views, likes, and subscribers online.

As a content creator, you can also earn when people pay you to advertise their products on your social media handles. All you need to start content Creation is just a YouTube channel and your smartphone.

16. Shoe Making

Shoe Making in Nigeria is one the successful industry because of its demands. No matter, how bad the country’s economy is, people have to wear not only shoes but all footwear at large.

The Aba Market, in Abia State, Nigeria is popularly known for making all kinds of shoes both leather and rubber. To start shoe Making business, you actually need to learn technical skills in order to be successful in the business.

Shoe Making is one of the most-rated handworks in Nigeria because it deals with the needs of man.

Conclusion

If this article helps answer your search query, consider checking our previous blog post on the 7 Ways To Make Money With Your Smartphone in Nigeria