Top 15 Untapped Business Ideas in Nigeria

Are you thinking of starting an untapped business in Nigeria and you do not know where to start? You have tried some businesses already and they did not turn out well? I know how it feels. I was once there. I have run three businesses that have failed not because I was ignorant or because I lacked funds, life just happened and I just had to move on.

The last time on the blog I write a long comprehensive list like this was when I wrote the Best Business Ideas in Nigeria for Men but we all know some of these businesses have been watered down. Only those that know what they are doing and can package themselves can still make millions of money from these business ideas.

If you do not have the full idea of these businesses and lack proper business or personal branding the business will crumble right from the start-up day. That is why on this blog I usually advise us to go further in findings and make our own research asides from the findings we make before writing.

TheInfoWorth blog business ideas and tips are not enough. Enough said! That reminds me, I have decided to give the snail business I talked about in the article “How to be a Millionaire in Nigeria” a try, and everything has been going well. Last month, I started by buying 20 pieces of the AM Snails also known as the African Giant Snails.

The major aim here is to start on a small scale and see how it goes from there before I go into the business on a large scale. The total money I spent so far on setting it up was #6,000. #5,000 to buy 20 pieces of Achatina Achatina (AA) snails and #1,000 to build their pen. I used locally sourced recycled materials to build the pen.

They are growing rapidly. In fact, they have started laying eggs. My first batch of eggs should hatch in a week or 2 from now and I am excited about these. I can not wait to start fish farming too as time goes by. I just thought I should give you guys some heads up and let you know I am also trying the business I talk about on the blog.

Top Untapped Business Ideas in Nigeria

Here are the top untapped businesses in Nigeria you can start now to make money.

1. Preschool Service Business

This is an untapped business in Nigeria. Due to the Nigerian government’s inability to provide standard schools in Nigeria school business has now become a lucrative business in Nigeria and also an untapped business in Nigeria for upcoming entrepreneurs.

However, there are 3 factors that will determine the success of your school and these factors are:

A. Good Location 

Where your school is located? This plays a good role in determining if the school will yield massive returns or not. You cannot compare a school at Lekki with a school at Sango. If you are passionate about starting a school in Nigeria and you start with a location – a good location. Consider a place where rich Nigerians and foreigners live.

If you can start a school in location like this in Nigeria, you will start making millions in 2 years. I have seen this happen so many times and I can testify to it. An example is a family friend of ours that started her school here on the island here at Lekki. And although it took her 3 years to find her balance, she is now making big money.

B. Investment

How much you invest to start your school is also very important. You cannot compare someone that invested 5 million into starting a school with some that invests1 million. The higher the money invested the higher the returns. The man that invested 5 million will be able to build a fully purposed school with equipment while the man that invested 1 million will have to settle for probably a rented building reducing and little resources.

C. Branding

Branding plays an important role in how much you will also make from your school business in Nigeria. For those of us that do not know what branding means it just simply means you rendering simple services that will make you stand out from the rest of the schools in the area, you are located.

An example is teaching subjects that are not commonly thought in Nigerian schools or organizing extracurricular activities that are not commonly done either. Look at what you can do after doing your findings in the schools around you. Another reason why the school business in Nigeria is also booming (becoming lucrative) is the increasing population of children.

Nigeria has been holding the record in terms of being the highest populated country in Africa and it is still retaining this title today. Even the rich in Nigeria are still having many children. So many families are having as many as 4 sometimes 5 children – overpopulating the well-known private schools.

So this is the best time to start your own school preferably preschool if you cannot start a primary school for now. Preschool has come to stay. In starting a preschool you just need a few things. A good apartment filled with toys, beds, and play areas for the children and also 1 or 2 staff to help with the children. A medically fit and neat staff.

2. E-books Publishing and Sales

Sales of ebooks in Nigeria are also an untapped business in Nigeria. As time goes by in Nigeria the sales of ebooks are also going to be on the rise and there are so many reasons behind this. One of the reasons is many Nigerians are now using Android phones. Most of today’s youths are also becoming techy.

They no longer want to carry books around all in the name of reading. They want to move around and have their books on their phones. I used to think ebooks were not for me because I did not like reading from screens until I tried it back then in school to read my courses. I downloaded all my course materials and ebooks on my phone because I was tired of carrying my school’s books around and it really helped me.

I was able to read my books anywhere I was even in traffic and I was also able to move around in Lagos without carrying bags since then I have fallen in love with ebooks. Today, I have added and read so many books on my phone without buying them in print. So if you are a writer and you are seriously considering making money (millions) from your writing I will say you should consider this.

Benefits of Sales of Ebooks in Nigeria

A. No Government Regulation

Yes, you can write your books, edit them yourself, and also promote them yourself. You do not need government regulations as to whether your book is good or not. All you need is your intelligent self or intelligent individuals to make your books Nigeria’s bestseller.

B. Cheap Production

Another benefit of sales of ebooks over sales of print books is how cheap it is as regards production. Aside from the little money you may pay for editing (if you want the book to be edited by professional editors and other little runs), you may pay little to no money for production.

C. Zero Expenses on Delivery

Yes, unlike using Jumia, Konga, or Amazon to deliver print books to buyers in Nigeria and all over the world. For ebooks, all you have to do is receive payment for the book and send it straight to the buyer’s inbox by mail.

How to Sell Ebooks Online in Nigeria

A. Sell Ebooks on Blogs

You can promote and sell your ebooks on your blog or other people’s blogs. All you have to do is to share the profit of sales of the ebooks. It’s either you give a commission for each ebook sold on their blog or just pay them at once for the sales and promotion. The decision is totally up to you.

B. Sell ebooks on Instagram

You can also pay individuals with a large following on Instagram to promote your eBook. The cost depends on the followers the Instagram influencer has.

C. Sell Ebooks on Facebook Groups

The promotion of your ebooks is possible on large Facebook groups.

D. Sell Ebooks with Word of Mouth

This is where you pay people for advertising your book with their mouths. When they refer a customer to you and the customer buys the ebook, you pay them a commission. You should seriously consider ebook sales if you want to make a living from writing in Nigeria.

Read our article on ebooks business in Nigeria: how to sell online and make money

3. Online Tutoring

Online tutoring is another untapped business in Nigeria. Some time ago, I talked about Prepclass, how they came, and changed everything about the tutoring business in Nigeria. You can also do this. Teaching in Nigeria has gone beyond physical presence just as it is in other parts of the world.

This is why tutoring is on our list as one of the most untapped businesses in Nigeria. If you are good at teaching and you see yourself as a professional in an area Nigerians need. You should start your own online tutoring. Teach these things and make people pay you for them.

The common ones I know that Nigerians are making money from now are teachings of Nigerian languages, learning of musical instruments, and giving advice on how to grow a business. But if your line is not part of those I mentioned, you can start yours.

To start, you will need a platform. You may need to start a website or blog or join any of these online tutoring platforms in Nigeria. Read our post on how to make money as a teacher in Nigeria online and offline.

4. Website Consulting Business

Website consulting is another untapped business in Nigeria. Do you have a blog? Have you been blogging for a while? Do you understand the WordPress and blogger platform that you consider yourself a professional website builder or consultant? This is for you?

Professional website consulting has been a lucrative business in the USA and other parts of the world but it is not used enough in Nigeria. This is an untapped business in Nigeria and any individual that goes into it now will make money right from the comfort of his home.

Professional website consultants like Caroline Wabara are making it big when it comes to consulting for websites or blogs in Nigeria. To start your own website consulting in Nigeria, you need to start a website or blog telling people what you do. All you need is the first client and the rest will be history from there.

But make sure you learn everything you need to know first before starting out so that your work will always speak for you and you will not be under-prized.

5. Beard Oil Business

The beard gang era has started for a while now in Nigeria and many men are now taking the growing of beards seriously. Even though I writing this article I am part of the gang. And I am still looking for the perfect beard oil in Nigeria for me. Talking about how to make my beard darker and more attractive but unfortunately, beard oils are not surplus.

So this is another untapped business in Nigeria for men who want to go into new businesses as I am looking forward to seeing beard shops in Nigeria. If you can start this business you should be making millions of naira before the year comes to an end.

All you have to do to start is to import your oils from either country USA or China, rent, furnish a shop, and make adverts to inform men that you now have the products they need to maintain their beards. They will start trooping in from there.

Also, those who buy their beard products online from online malls like Amazon will no longer need to do so as they can easily get their beard products from your shop. The Beard Oil business can be a lucrative business and untapped business in Nigeria for you if you do all your findings well before starting.

There are many shops in Nigeria that take care of women’s needs (selling beauty products)s but there are little to no shops taking care of men’s needs so if you start now, you will be one of the pioneers of men’s products in Nigeria.

6. Photography Business

Photography business in Nigeria is one of the most untapped businesses in Nigeria. Despite the fact that many Nigerians are already in the business, only a few are really making millions of money from the business. Celebrity photographers like TY Bello and the likes are only the ones making huge money.

You can also go into the business if you are passionate about photography. All you need to package yourself well and learn what it takes to be a professional photographer and as time goes by you will be making your own money and you’ll be able to register your photography company.

For more success in the business, you should also consider connecting with celebrities so as to be a celebrity photographer as soon as possible. Immediately you are able to land a photo shoot with a celebrity and if you do it well you are already a celebrity photographer.

I wrote a comprehensive article on how to start a photography business in Nigeria with little money and create wealth. You can read it to know how to start if you’re really interested in the photography business and you do not know how to go about it.

7. Plus-Size Clothing Business

The other day I was discussing with my friend and he was telling me how difficult it is to get plus-size clothing in Nigeria. He told me most of his clothes are now worn out and it has been extremely hard replacing them. He said he used to buy from abroad and then import but then it is harder now based on government regulations and import duties.

He said he would have just loved to have a boutique that deals with plus size to by from here and I could not agree with him less. If you look around you today you will realize that there are little to no shops specially made to promote plus-size men and women.

Every plus-size woman you see on the road every day has to struggle to get clothes that perfectly fit. This is where intelligent Nigerians who are passionate about fashion especially plus-size fashion can come in. You can simply import or produce plus-size clothes in Nigeria, rent a shop, and start selling to men and women at a good price and still make your money.

Plus size clothing business can be a lucrative business in Nigeria because it is an untapped business in Nigeria if you know what you’re doing. Read our article on how to start a clothing business in Nigeria: how and sell online.

8. Consulting Business

Are you experienced in agribusiness or experienced in the business of buying and selling and do you feel you can advise business owners and how to make increased sales in their business? Do you have some qualifications to back this up? You can start your business consulting in Nigeria today.

If you do not know business consulting is another untapped business and lucrative business in Nigeria. You can start a blog or YouTube channel to promote what you do and if readers like how you advise them, they will approach you for business advice, and from there you can charge them for your business consult.

Business consulting in Nigeria is an information marketing business that is yet to be fully tapped because many people are yet to discover how much it can make it. Fela Durotoye, Stephen Omojuigbe, and others are the few Nigerians making millions from this business. You can start your own information marketing business now.

9. Accounting Services Business

Just the other day, another friend of mine that works with an accounting firm was telling me how much he makes when freelancing on some accounting jobs. Although many Nigerian businesses have come to embrace accounting services for auditory purposes, many of these companies still need accounting services for other solving issues like tax clearance.

This is where you can come in. All you have to do here is to offer these accounting services to these companies and charge them a little fee. You can start with small businesses or startups first by giving financial advice first and as time goes by they will be able to trust you with their money. This untapped business in Nigeria is only for those that studied accounting in school.

10. App/Software Development

So just in case, you do not understand, app development means you develop an application for consumer purposes or the government and later sell the app for millions of dollars. This is another untapped business in Nigeria that makes millions because only a few Nigerians can code.

Out of 1000 Nigerians, there are only about 20 youths that can code and out of those 20 it might be only 2 might be able to successfully create an app. So if you are passionate about coding and you learn it now, in a year a two.

You should be able to build an app that can make you millions to tech companies like Amazon or Microsoft or any tech company in Silicon Valley. There are Nigerians that have done this and become millionaires.

11. Cleaning Business

The janitorial services business also known as the cleaning services business in Nigeria is another untapped business in Nigeria as it is yet to be flooded. The number of companies we have in Nigeria cannot be compared with the cleaning services we have in Nigeria.

So you can start your own cleaning services company if you are passionate about cleaning and want to make millions doing your passion. All you have to do to start is to register your company and employ people that will work for you. Read our article on how to start and run cleaning business in Nigeria.

12. Blogging Business

Yes, it might look weird to see blogging in this list but it is true. The blogging business is another business that is untapped in Nigeria. First off, we do not have many blogs in Nigeria, and asides from this, we only have very few bloggers that are making good money from their blog after monetization.

So blogging in Nigeria is still a lucrative business until many Nigerian youths start a blog.

How to Start a Blog in Nigeria

A. Choose a Niche

Before starting a blog in Nigeria you should first consider the niche you want to blog on. What you want to talk about on your blog is very important. Is it entertainment, money, relationships, success, or politics?

B. Choose a Blogging Platform

The most common blogging platforms in Nigeria are WordPress and blogger platforms. You will need to choose the one that works best for you as regards its expenses and technicalities.

C. Get a Domain

This is when you choose a name for your blog and add a .com, .ng, or .com.ng to the end. Happy blogging!

13. Affiliate Marketing Business

Affiliate marketing is another business you should watch out for in Nigeria especially if you want to be your own boss and work from home. It is another untapped business in Nigeria because only a few Nigerians know about it, get trained, and make money from it. It is a lucrative business in Nigeria because its risk is low.

You do not need to invest your money into it. It’s one of the safest businesses you can start in Nigeria. All you need to do in affiliate marketing is to promote other people’s businesses on the internet and get paid for it. To start and understand how the business is done, you need to learn from the gurus in the business.

That is where you will be spending money on. You can start making money from affiliate marketing on WhatsApp and Twitter by reading my articles on how to make money on WhatsApp and how to make money on twitter in Nigeria

14. Podcasting Business

Seriously, how many Nigerians do you know that are in the podcasting business? I bet you know no one. Yes, the same for me until I saw one yesterday on Google. This shows that the podcasting business is still untapped in Nigeria.

So you can start your podcasting business in Nigeria now by choosing your best podcast app if you are really passionate about talking. Read our post on how to start a profitable podcast in Nigeria.

15. Poultry Farming

Turkey business (poultry business) is another untapped business idea in Nigeria you should go into because of the massive returns it yields. The meat industry in Nigeria is still untapped and this is due to Nigeria’s overpopulation and farmers’ difficulty to access grants and loans from the government.

So anyone that can go into the poultry business, especially the turkey business will be putting food on many Nigeria tables and also make big money alongside. Turkeys are poultry animals that are easy to breed and feed. They lay and hatch many eggs at once and can feed on vegetable asides from their normal feeds.

So you can start your turkey farm today by buying local and international breeds and in a year’s time you sell these turkeys to make huge profits. An adult turkey can go for the price of 10,000 – 25,000 depending on its size and breed. Imagine you sell 50 – 100 0f this. This is where you will be making your money from.

Turkey business is another untapped business in Nigeria you can go into if you are passionate about animals. Read our guide on how to start poultry farming in Nigeria.

16. Real Estate Business

The real estate business in Nigeria has become another untapped business in Nigeria due to the Nigerian government’s inability to provide affordable housing. The average Nigerian man cannot afford a standard apartment in his own country.

Many live in a one-room and those that can not afford these one-rooms have no choice but to scout with their friends. So the real estate in Nigeria is seriously waiting for Nigerians that are bold enough to come into the business and build affordable housing not for the rich.

But for middle and low-income citizens. And do not be afraid of not making enough money because you are building for middle and low-income earners. You will still make your money in millions if you know where to buy land and build, how much you spend o develop the low-cost housing, and how much you place this low-cost housing down for sale.

The real estate business in Nigeria is an upcoming lucrative business and it will always be until the Nigerian government fixes housing problems in Nigeria.

Conclusion

Untapped business can be very profitable, especially within the first 2 – 5 years you start the business. But you must be able to spot when the business is over-flooded and exist. If you do not do this, your business will collapse Is there any untapped business in Nigeria or upcoming businesses you know that I have not talked about in this article? Share with me in the comments.

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