This
is the second tranche – concluding part of my essay: Top 21 Lucrative Business,
Investment Opportunities in Nigeria. Of course, this is just a guide; there are
a plethora of other business and investment opportunities in Nigeria not
captured in this piece.
8.
Hospitality and Entertainment Industry - The demand for quality hotels, restaurants,
Cinemas, Amusement Parks is far higher than its supply in Nigeria. On the area
of entertainment, the past decade has witnessed an upsurge in Nigeria’s
entertainment industry. There are many talents to be discovered and many unsung
artistes in dire need of publicity, branding and sponsorship.
9.
Construction companies- Infrastructure-wise, Nigeria is definitely a huge
work-in-progress hence Construction companies will continue to play pivotal
roles. A lot of Chinese firms,
financial institutions are striking Public Private Partnership (PPP) deals with
Nigerian government establishments at the Federal, State and probably the local
government level.
10.
The solid
mineral sector in Nigeria is an untapped
goldmine. Solid minerals such as Gold, Copper, Limestone, Coal, Bitumen,
Bentonite, Tin, Zinc etc. abound in Nigeria. With dwindling crude oil prices
and sales, Nigeria is bent to diversify its stream of income and the solid
mineral sector will be one of the beneficiaries of this policy. To this effect,
the Nigerian government commenced implementation of a duty-free regime on
imported mining equipment’s into Nigeria in 2013.
11.
Private Refinery, Downstream Oil & Gas Sector – Whereas South
Africa with a population of about 53 million people has six functional
refineries with total output of about 626,500bbl/d; Nigeria, a country of about
170 million people boasts of only 3 derelict government-owned refineries with a
total capacity of about 340,000bbl/d. The said refineries seldom function to
full capacity, even if they do; they are grossly inadequate for the country
which explains the intermittent petrol scarcity in the country. With the
crippling effect of the recent fuel scarcity on the Nigerian economy and the
likely bent by the incoming Buhari administration to rein in a fraudulent
petroleum subsidy regime, there will be a drive towards increased local
refining of crude oil in Nigeria. Prior to now, 18 licenses for private
refineries are said to have been issued to private investors in Nigeria but
none is currently operational probably due to bottlenecks and their corrupt
subsidy racketeering regime. Ever foresighted Africa’s richest man – Aliko
Dangote has made a bold move to tap into this opportunity with a couple of
refineries under construction by his conglomerate. According to analysts, the
eventual passage of the much vaunted Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) currently
lying fallow in Nigeria’s National Assembly will see more indigenous firms
participating in the downstream sector of the Nigerian Oil and Gas industry.
12.
Commercial transportation - Will increasingly witness a shift towards
conglomerates such as BRT, LAGBUS etc. which is the trend all over the world.
In the United Kingdom for instance, a transport company known as Travel West
midlands and a handful of other smaller transport companies service the entire
Westmidlands. Revamping inland waterway transportation, budget airlines,
provision and privatization of Nigeria’s railway sector are business
opportunities waiting to be tapped into. I think an outsourced bus for
companies, schools or taxi network modelled after Ubber Taxi that can permeate
the length and breadth of Nigeria will be profitable given the size of the
Nigerian market.
13.
Logistics and Haulage Services – Haulage and logistics business is thriving and will
continue to thrive in Nigeria given the enormous number of goods to be moved
from one part of the country to the other and sequel to poor road network and
high cost airfares. In the event that a prospective investor in this sector
lacks the experience and time to run the business, there are already
established Haulage and Logistics firms that such investors can contract out
their trucks to on agreed terms.
14.
Internet Service Provider (Provision of fast
broadband internet service) - Contrasted
with other parts of the world, the cost of broadband internet, digital
television subscriptions in Nigeria is astronomical despite poor service. In
the United Kingdom, a broadband war led to Tesco launching a super-low
price of £2 (N600) a month for
super-fast unlimited data broadband internet.
From the foregoing, it follows that the N15,
000 to N25, 000 (about £100) or thereabout that Nigerians are currently paying
for monthly unlimited broadband subscription is pretty much expensive.
Foresighted Western investors that can offer a better service at a cheaper rate
will surely make a kill.
15.
Agriculture -
Poultry farming, piggery, fishery (catfish farming) are viable business
opportunities in Nigeria because a growing population of 170 million people
requires food for sustenance. To give you an idea, Nigeria spends $4bn annually on rice importation
alone. Unlike in many
Western countries where agriculture is subsidized, that cannot be said to be
the case in Nigeria.
16.
Storing, processing and packaging of food items - (Palm oil, pounded yam, cassava, tomatoes,
plantain, soya bean etc.). These food items can be sourced during their peak
season when they are normally cheap. For instance Palm oil bought during the
peak period for say N1,000 could sell
for N2,000 i.e. 100% profit later in
the year when it tends to be scarce. Same applies to yam, tomatoes and other
food items. Further profit will be made if the aforementioned food items are
processed with the help of not-so-sophisticated locally fabricated processing
machines. Well-processed palm oil, powdered pounded yam and fufu are novelties
in Nigeria. Yam, tomatoes, soya bean can be sourced at very cheap rates from
Benue state while palm oil abounds in south east/south-south Nigeria.
17.
Importation business – As you know, Nigeria is a consumer-driven and
import-dependent economy. A good number of things consumed, used in the country
are imported – from tooth pick to electronics. Ironically the sixth largest
producer of crude oil in the world imports petroleum products; this tells you
how bad it is. Considering the fact that Nigeria is a large market (about 170
million people), if you can carve a niche for yourself with say a fast moving
product at a reasonable price, especially now that E-commerce (online shopping) is gaining ground in Nigeria, you are
made. Please keep a keen eye on Dollar-Naira exchange rate fluctuations if you
fancy import business.
18.
Export business
– Nigeria is endowed with abundant raw materials and non-oil exportable
products such as cotton (the most important natural fibre of the 20th
century), Ginger, Garlic, Palm Kernel Oil (PKO) and Palm Kernel Cake (also used
as biomass fuel), Yam flour, Pure honey, cocoa butter, gum Arabic, cashew nuts,
charcoal, Gallstone (sourced by pharmaceutical companies), mineral ores (tin,
zinc, gold, copper et.), rubber, Shea butter, Sesame seed, Chili pepper, fruit
juice, yam etc.
19.
Distributorship, Supply and Sales of important
products – Cement, building
materials, pharmaceutical products, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) etc.
20.
Proficient Daycare or Babysitting Centers – The explanation for this viable business
opportunity in Nigeria stems from the fact that a blooming population where
both parents are probably working needs reliable and trustworthy hands to take
care of their wards. Again, given their nuisance and atrocious attitude, house
helps are a no-no to many parents who will rather keep their wards with a
standard daycare centre than risk leaving them with such house helps.
21.
Gambling (Sports Betting, etc.) - On a lighter note but seriously speaking, with
reports of over 60 million Nigerians locked in a sports betting frenzy weekly
and the betting companies said to be raking in some N1.8 billion daily, sports
betting is potentially the new black gold
in Nigeria. It runs in some families with father, mother and their children
actively patronizing the lotto industry. There is money to be made here if you
are a big fan of gambling (sports betting lotto) and variants of it. An innovative
gambling or lotto platform will be a money spinner.
__________________________________________________________
Written By:
©Don Okereke
(Entrepreneur,
Security Analyst/Consultant, Ex-Serviceman, Writer/Blogger, Change Agent)
Contact me on:
donnuait (a) yahoo.com
Follow me on Twitter:
@DonOkereke
June, 2015
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