Business Idea

7 Best Online Business Ideas In Nigeria

Are you creative? Are you tech savvy? Do you love surfing the net? Do you have good learning ability and an innovative mind which you intend to use and generate income. If your answer to all the questions is Yes! then starting an online business is the way to go because you can do what you love (being on the internet) and make money from it.

Due to the high rate of unemployment in Nigeria, many young people and also some middle-aged individuals are looking for alternative job opportunities and one area which provides this for the growing population is the online sphere.

Starting an online business is very easy, most of it can be done without having capital and the primary things you need are; Laptop, a smartphone and internet connection. In 2019, Global e-commerce sales was reported to have hit $26.7 trillion, which means the online industry is very lucrative.

Checkout: 10 Business Ideas To Start As A Student.

In this article, we will list seven types of online business you can start in Nigeria.

1. AFFILIATE MARKETING

This is the business of referring people to buy goods and services for a commission. Affiliate marketing is lucrative but highly underrated, but many people do not know that you don’t need to have any product. If you have huge following on social media, all you have to do is promote a link to a wide audience and when people click or make orders, you get paid for the referral.

For example, there is a phone on sale which cost N80,000 and you are offered a commission of 5% which is N4,000. You share the links through your online channels and at the end of a month, 1000 people purchase through your recommendation. So N80, 000 x 1000 = N80,000,000. 5% of N80 million is N4,000,000. What it means is that in a month you have made 4 million naira.

2. BLOGGING

Online blogs have become the young population’s source for breaking news as most do not read newspapers or watch news on TV stations.

Becoming a blogger can be lucrative once you have a site or platform you use to disseminate news as they are happening. Once readers begin to flock to your page to get current updates, with time, you get sponsors or people paying you to run adverts for them.

3. FREELANCING

The freelancing business means rendering services remotely or having work flexibility while on the payroll of one or more companies without even being their employee.

To stand out, you should have skills that are relevant in today’s labour market. It could be video editing, writing, graphic design, typing, translation or transcription, digital marketing skills amongst others.

It is a very profitable online business to go into in Nigeria with strategic positioning and if you have good impeccable service delivery. In USA, freelancers makes up 35% of its workforce and contribute over $1 trillion to the economy.

4. DROPSHIPPING

Drop shipping is simply the act of selling goods on your website that you don’t keep in stock. When you receive an order you send that order to another company to ship the goods directly to the buyer.

An example of e-commerce global platform that offer such services is Amazon, owned by American billionaire, Jeff Bezos. Also in Nigeria, the biggest online marketplaces are Jumia and Konga and they can all be very helpful if you want to start drop shipping.

5. CREATION AND SALE OF ONLINE COURSES/E-BOOKS

Digital books are a viable way for writers and essayists to make money using their art. They can write and publish books online which will be bought by keen readers. Someone who has expertise on any topic can package that knowledge into a high-value course or e-book and sell it to people that are seeking the knowledge.

To publish and sell an e-book is less expensive than publishing hard copies. Some recommended platforms to start this business are; Amazon, Okadabooks, and Gumroad. All you have to do is to write and convert your work to pdf before uploading it to any platform.

6. MINI IMPORTATION

This entails buying products from China or any other country that produces certain goods at cheap prices, importing them to Nigeria, and then selling them for good profits.

Many people have turned millionaires through mini importation business. According to a report, you can make 200% ROI per product. For example, a man buys shoes at N2,000 per pair, he sorts the shipping, clearing, and forwarding fee for N2,000, and when it reaches Nigeria, he sells it for N10,000, leaving him with a profit of N5,000 for just one shoe.

7. FOREX

Forex trading also known as currency trading is a high risk business that requires huge investment, but your fortunes can change within a month if the market favours you. To start this, you’ll need a smartphone, laptop, internet connection and tutorials on how to trade forex and navigate through the system.

The difference between Stock exchanges and Forex, is that the former provides a transparent, regulated, and convenient marketplace for buyers to conduct business with sellers.

Conclusion

There are many online business ideas that can be adopted by prospective entrepreneurs and the beautiful aspect is that you do not need much money to start most of them.

It is however important to note that you should have tech/digital skills, knowledge about navigating the internet because most of what you will be doing will be online.

If you have been wondering what you can use all that spare time you have to do, we have listed great ideas that you can explore today and be on your way to making money and being your own boss.

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