As a student, there is no better time to start your own business. You’ve got fewer responsibilities and lots of time on your hands, however, for many students, the lack of funds could make it difficult for them to start any profitable business.

Business Ideas for Students in Nigeria

Luckily, there are several profitable business ideas that would only require little or no funds to start. Take note that building a successful business would require some of your time, so you should draft out a business plan to guide you as you study and run your business.

We have listed these 20 business ideas for Nigerian students and the start-up costs.

1. Content Writing

If you have a knack for writing, you could become a content writer for blogs and websites. The pay can be lucrative if you start working for foreign sites or sign up on platforms like Fiverr, Upwork, and Freelancer.

Getting started as a freelancer, you will a reliable laptop and internet connection. This should cost you less than N100,000 if you don’t have a laptop and probably nothing if you already have one.

2. Blogging

The likes of Linda Ikeji and Makinde Azeez made blogging quite popular after they revealed the millions they made from it. As a student, blogging might be the best business for you especially if you don’t want it to affect your studies.

Creating a blog would require a domain name and a web hosting service which should cost you anywhere from N10,000 to N50,000. Luckily for you, this payment will last for an entire year.

3. Graphic Design

If you’re skilled with designs, you could earn big designing flyers and posters for events and occasions. You could also become a freelancer and offer your service on freelance sites like Fiverr.

4. Baking cakes and pastries

University students love to put on a show during their birthdays and while many won’t go all the way to throw a lavish party, they would always welcome a birthday cake. To learn how to bake cake and pastries, you will have to go for a tutorial class which could cost about N10,000.

Baking a cake requires an oven as well as the baking ingredients. These cost less than N50,000 especially if you’re going for a fairly used oven.

5. Hairdressing business

Ladies are always looking to make their hair and in a school environment, you’re more likely to get customers every day. However, setting up a hairdressing business can cost you several hundreds of thousands depending on how classy you want your business to look.

6. Tailoring

Tailoring is a decent business though not as lucrative as many others you would venture into. Take note that tailoring comes with its perks as well as a long list of cons. You would have to deal with debts due to students not being able to pay completely.

7. Selling artwork

If you’re great at creating artworks, you could make a fortune from this business. Students would love artworks of themselves or someone to care about (especially as a gift).

8. Selling beddings and bedsheet

Students will always require beddings and bedsheets which makes this business quite lucrative. It is also very cheap to start. You won’t need more than N20,000 to purchase a large stack. Also, you can start advertising to your friends and get them to tell other people.

9. Mini importation

Mini importation involves importing small goods or products from aboard at a cheaper price and sell for a profit. To start this business, you will need to get some training and learn the tactics of the business. You will also need to get information on the right websites to import from, the right products to import, how to clear your goods, and how to start selling.

10. Tutoring

If you’re great at science courses, you will find much profit from this business. Most students in their first year would require guidance and they will turn to tutorial masters. You can start tutoring students for several weeks for a small fee. This could be up to N3,000 per student and if you’re able to get 20 students in a month, you could be making up N60,000 with ease.

11. Web design

Web design is an internet service skill that requires you have some experience with programming. You will need to know how to design a website on WordPress as well as have knowledge of web programming languages like CSS, Javascript, HTML, and Python.

12. Phone and computer repairs

This is one of the most popular side hustles for guys in the university. Learning phone repair could take a while but you can speed up the process if you’re ready to pay someone to teach you. When done with your training, you can go ahead to acquire the necessary tools and a workspace.

13. Dropshipping

Just like mini importation, dropshipping is all about selling products to make a profit. However, it follows a different principle. Dropshipping involves ordering goods for customers based on request. You will be offered a small commission for each successful delivery. To make this work, you should focus on only products that are popular in your area.

14. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is quite similar to dropshipping, however, it is a cheaper business venture. You will not have to create a website like with dropshipping and you can make money without having to ensure the product gets delivered to the customer. A good example of this business type is Jumia Affiliate.

15. Recharge Card Business

Selling recharge card is another affordable business that students can venture into, however, the profit from this business would be really small. To maximize your chances of making it big, you should set up your shop in a place with a high population.

16. Selling used clothes

Fairly used clothes would bring you a huge market in any school area especially if you’re in a federal university or polytechnic. This business is also easy to start and would require less than N20,000 to set up.

17. Barbing Saloon Business

If you have enough funds to spare, you could open a barbing saloon. This is a daily income business that could bring you some big bucks if you have a good marketing strategy. However, opening a barbing saloon is no easy business. You would require hundreds of thousands in capital to set it up.

18. Vlogging

With a good camera and some great ideas, you could become a popular vlogger. YouTube is the best place to start your vlogging career. You could sign up for Google Adsense as well as get sponsored videos from brands.

19. Programming

If you’re great with coding, you could sign up for freelancing websites and build apps as well as software for companies that need them. Learning programming would take several months and when you’re done, you could earn from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands for your services.

20. Painting

Students are always looking for a professional painter to style their rooms which makes this a lucrative business to start in a school. All you need to do is get some training which might require you to pay or you can learn by painting your own. You will earn more money by learning how to paint more complex styles.