Cassava plants grow so well in Nigeria that they’ve become an integral part of the Nigerian government’s Feed the Nation campaign. Locals are encouraged to tap into cassava farming because of relatively low startup costs and the vast amount of land available for agriculture. A startup package includes 10 hectares (close to 25 acres) of land, labor to clear weeds, around 50,000 cassava sticks, labor to plant them, fertilizer and labor to maintain the farm. All of this adds up to around $18,000 to start up, according to Constative.com.
The demand for clean bottled water in Nigeria is very high, and if you do start a business producing it, you could make back in profits all of your initial startup costs in less than two years. What you need to start this type of business is a bottle supplier that is a member of the International Bottled Water Association, a long-term water source, water treatment machines, storage tanks and government approval. Gaining government approval will require a fee, but that’s built into your startup costs, which total around $9,000, according to Enterpriseboom.com.
More than 160 million Nigerians buy chicken and poultry products every day, but many have a hard time finding a place to buy eggs. One healthy chicken can produce as many as 325 eggs in a year. With the rate of demand, this could be a very lucrative business. Five hundred healthy chickens can yield 12,000 eggs in 40 days. If the chickens do produce at that rate, an entrepreneur could earn around $130 a month from eggs, according to Wealthresult.com.
Soap is a necessity, so the demand will be there for suppliers. Nigerian consumers will purchase Nigerian-made soap. Some local soap brands have become so popular in Nigeria that they compete with well-known international brands. Important natural ingredients that go into Nigerian soap grow locally such as shea butter and palm kernel oil. Nigerian-made Dudu-Osun soap, made with entirely natural ingredients, now has millions of international buyers, according to Smallstarter.com.
Motorized tricycles, aka keke naneps, are a popular form of taxis in congested areas of Nigeria, like Lagos. There are several ways to make money with a keke, depending on how much startup capital you have. You can start a small keke business by loaning one of the vehicles and pay somebody to drive it for you as a taxi. You can buy several kekes and have several drivers on salary, or you can rent out your keke to temporary riders. Renting out one Keke can earn a Keke owner between $250 to $750 in three to six months, according to Constative.com.
The Nigerian government put a ban on imported furniture in 2004. The ban was lifted in 2015, but by then, enough local furniture makers emerged to make local consumers appreciate Nigerian-made products. One such manufacturer, Ibukun Awosika, started her company by hiring three carpenters, two tailors, and two sprayers. She outsourced products that required larger machines to other workshops. Awosika eventually used the money she made in her business to buy her own machines, and she partnered with a French manufacturer to build a Nigerian furniture factory. It produced “world-class and international standard office furniture,” according to Smallstarter.com.
Snails, like chickens, can be reproduced and reared for profit. By simply creating the proper, damp environment for them, a snail farmer can put in very little capital and see huge earnings. Finding the snails to start the process can be free. It’s the equipment and nutrients for the snails that cost money, along with the cost for a small plot of land. Starting a farm with 1,000 snails can yield 1.5 million snails within a year, and based on standard market prices, this can earn the farmer 5 million naira a year (around $25,000) according to Constative.com.
Nigeria is home to tropical fruits that are sought after on the international market, such as June plums and ackee—both extremely juicy fruits. Nigerians spend over $1 billion a year on imported juice, drinking around 550 million liters annually. The $350 startup costs to make local Nigerian fruit juice includes the cost of a hydraulic press, a blending tank, a filter machine, a boiler, a filling machine and a fruit washing tank. At the moment, Nigeria can supply only about a quarter of the local demand for juice, according to Newsworldng.com.
