6 businesses you can start in Nigeria with only N10,000

Ask any Nigerian entrepreneur the major problem with starting a business and the most likely answer you will get is the lack of capital to kick off.

However, with N10,000 you can start a business, that will slowly bloom into a source of livelihood. What are some of such businesses? Check out the tips below:

1. Book sales

Selling books is not easy. Yet it is a business you can begin with very little capital, all you need to have a community of book lovers, who are willing to buy books.

Once you prove yourself trustworthy, publishers and bigger book stores will even give you books on credit, so you can pay them after you have sold.

You can find book sellers in many street corners and busy markets across Nigeria. Photo Credit: New Yorker

2. Fruits and vegetables

Fruits and vegetables like watermelon, Oranges, carrots, cabbage are quite the catch these days. All you need is a good wheelbarrow to move them in, a little capital to start, a busy street corner and a friendly disposition and you will be earning profit sooner than you expect.

Fruits and vegetables perish quickly so a good knowledge of market dynamics is a plus

3. Phone accessories

You can go for the low-end phone accessories, chargers, earpieces, pouches, phone covers, screen protectors. Just ensure you buy durable and original materials and let people have your contact number, in case they need anything else.

Phone accessories sellers can be found in busy markets like this

4. Food vendor

While you may not have enough money to start an entire food vending business, you could start with a single food item. Like puff-puff or moin moin. Something well-made in a cooler that you can carry everywhere or place in a single busy spot. Soon you might be known as the go-to person for that food item.

Food vendors have the advantage of assured daily patronage at mealtimes

5. Palm oil sales

All you need for this is a good source of palm oil, most likely a village in eastern Nigeria and a way to transport to a busy town where the need exists and you are in business. The margin for profit on this is quite high and soon you could have a thriving business.

6. Tie and Dye

This is what a business consultant on WealthResult had to say about this business:

“This business is an untapped,profitable business in Nigeria, it requires you to get a white fabric, then you rinse the fabric in water and soap, then you tie an end of the fabric with an elastic band, then tie severally leaving some spaces in between (about an inch).

“You can tie as many as you like,put dye and salt in boiling water, then soak the fabric, you have yourself a lovely material (popularly known as adire among-st the yorubas).

“You can get white fabric for like N200 per yard,get for -5 yard piece (which costs like N1200) buy dye (like N250), your total cost will amount to (approximately) N1500, you might be able to sell the material for N2500 and make cool N1000 for each of the material you sell.”

These are just skeletal frameworks of these businesses and you can be as innovative as possible. All you mainly have to do is start somewhere.