2022 is about to end, and 2023 offers an opportunity for a fresh start, to start a lucrative business, and increase your income.
One of the things to look out for when starting a business is profitability. The last thing you want to do is invest in a business idea that is bad for profit making.
Here are some of the best small business ideas in Nigeria to consider if you are thinking of starting a business:
1: Food Restaurant
Food restaurants are another lucrative business to try out, especially if you enjoy cooking. The food business is a wide niche, and there are many ways you can build yourself in the niche.
You can start an actual restaurant, but this may require a lot of capital and human resources. Another option is to start a mobile food vendor business at affordable prices. One of the great things about mobile food is that you won’t be rooted in one place. You can move from one location to another, and you can offer food at affordable rates to set yourself apart from your competitors.
You can also consider one of the best home business ideas in Nigeria, which is being an online food vendor. This is a great opportunity, especially if running a mobile food service isn’t an option. It would help if you had a good online presence and great marketing tactics to capture your customers.
2. Catering Services
Catering Services are also a part of the food business and can be very lucrative, especially if you enjoy cooking. If cooking on a large scale isn’t your strong suit, you can hire skilled caterers, get some cooking equipment and market your brand. Many homes need catering services, especially during festive seasons, and once you work with one client, getting referrals will be very easy.
3. Frozen Food Sales
One of the best small business ideas in Nigeria 2023 is selling frozen foods like chicken, turkey, gizzards, and fish. You don’t need special skills or large capital to start this business. All you need is a deep freezer and a supplier to get your frozen products.
4. Cooking Gas Business
Many households in Nigeria use gas cookers, so there is always a demand for cooking gas. This business is easy to start, and you can begin on a small scale by filling up the gas cylinders for people in your neighbourhood. You can also combine this with selling gas cylinders and cooking equipment like pots and hose.
On a large scale, you can set up a gas station in a great location with little competition.
5. Online Advertising Firm
Advertising is one of the most profitable businesses in Nigeria, with low capital. Every company is looking for an opportunity to reach a wider audience, and you can set up an online marketing agency to help them reach their goal.
Online advertising doesn’t have to be huge or complicated especially if your major focus are small business owners in Nigeria.
To start on a small scale, you must build a large following on social media like Whatsapp and Instagram. Then you can help other business owners run ads on your page to reach your audience.
6. Clothes
Clothes are a necessity for humans and even more so in an era of different fashion trends. One of the top 20 small business ideas in Nigeria is selling clothes to customers online. Some clothes you can sell include thrift, native, jeans, female clothing, male clothing, and so on. You can decide to niche into specific clothes like selling just jeans, or you can deal with different items like offering different women’s clothes.
You don’t necessarily need a shop to start a clothing business. Start by creating an online presence, introducing your brand to the world, posting your products, and convincing them to buy from you.
7. Poultry Farming
One of the best Nigeria business opportunities is rearing poultry animals like chicken and turkey. This business brings a lot of money when done right because you can sell the meat, eggs, and even the bird droppings for money. All you need to start this business is a small space or cage, weeks-old chicks (you can start with 50-100 chicks), and chicken feed.
8. Beauty Salon
If you love making hair or want a business where people look good, then this business is for you. The best part is you don’t need hair-making skills to set up a beauty salon. Find a great location, look for skilled hairdressers and stock your shops with hair-making gadgets like hair dryers, beauty accessories, and so on.
9. Sports Viewing Center
One of the trendiest small business ideas in Nigeria 2023 is opening a sports viewing center. Many people around the world are football lovers, including Nigerians, so starting a football viewing spot where people can come together to watch big games will be quite lucrative.
One of the best tips to ace this business is finding a great location, setting up the place, and acquiring TVs, Decoders, Fans, Benches, Extensions, and a generator set.
10. Laundry Business
Another business idea in Nigeria with little capital is a laundry service provider. Many people are busy with work and would rather have someone else wash their clothes.
All you need is a washing machine, and you can even work from the comfort of your home instead of renting a shop. You will also need basic tools like iron, washing materials, and a generator in case of power failure.
You can also start a professional laundry business on a large scale. Get a good location, set it up with advanced washing equipment and find customers who will pay you well for your service.
11. Sell Products on an E-commerce Store
There are many e-commerce small business ide, and you could start yours too. E-Commerce involves selling products through a marketplace like Jumia, Konga, Amazon, Jiji, and so on.
It’s a great business that requires little capital, allows you to set up online, and makes finding customers easy. You remove the cost of building a store as you get to sell your business online. Another option is to invest in dropshipping so that you don’t need to buy products right away. Instead, you act as an intermediary for a supplier, post pictures of products, and wait for people to order. Once they do, you can get the products from the supplier. Also, e-commerce small business ideas can work great if you already have an offline store and want to expand your customer base.
12. Gym
A lot of Nigerians are now into fitness and physical activity, so opening a fitness center can be very profitable. Gyms charge more than 1,500 and above from customers, and you can also allow membership subscriptions on a monthly, bi-annually, and annually. It’s very important to set up your gym in a great location to get a lot of customers.
12. Logistics Company
Due to the large number of e-commerce businesses in Nigeria, there has been a great demand for delivery and logistics services. So one of the best small businesses to start in 2023 is starting a logistics company that transports goods from business owners to their customers. You can partner with companies and business owners to deliver goods like food, electronics, clothes, books, and so on.
14. Baking & Confectionery
The baking and confectionery industry is very huge, and there is no doubt the demand for it will continue to grow. If you are skilled in making cakes, pies, cookies, and other pastries, you can consider this small profitable business idea in Nigeria. If you don’t have skills in this but would like to start a business, you can go to a baking school to get trained.
A lot of people buy cakes and pastries as treats, and you can bake your products on a per-order basis. Also, you can partner with supermarkets and mini-marts to get them to display and sell your goods to their customers. Alternatively, you can set up an online store to increase your customer reach.
15. Gift Curation
If you love putting gift items together, you can set up a gift curation service. A lot of people would like to surprise their loved ones on special days like birthdays, Christmas, mothers day, and so on. However, not many people have time to shop around or decide the best thing to get for their loved ones, making gift curation the best small business to start in 2023.
This is where you come in; you can curate gift items perfect for specific occasions and use creative packaging to make them more attractive. The most important part of this job is creativity. You should be able to make the gifts unique and personal to the receiver.
Conclusion
There are many Nigeria business opportunities out there, and it’s up to find something that is not only profitable but will also work for you. If you are thinking of starting a business, go through this list and figure out which ones will work for your budget and situation.