More than a hundred million Nigerians have access to mobile phones. Each of these individuals has had to purchase recharge cards at some point. We must remind you that some of these individuals have more than one line on their devices. What this means is that selling recharge cards is a very profitable venture to invest in.

One other venture that promises a lot of profits is recharge card printing. Haven’t you ever thought that who prints the recharge cards that we use? They are individuals just like you who identified an opportunity. In this post, we will tell you how you can tap into the recharge card printing business. First, let’s look at the starting cost of this business.

How much does it cost to start a recharge card printing business in Nigeria?

One of the things that you must consider before starting any business is the capital requirement. The amount of capital that you need for a business will tell you whether you can start that business or not. This brings us to the question, “what is the starting cost for the recharge card printing business in Nigeria?”

The answer to this question isn’t so straightforward. First, we must break down this sector into its different levels. The level that you decide to begin with will determine how much you will need to start. Below are the three different levels and their starting costs:

• Mega dealers: Between N10 million and N15 million
• Wholesalers: Between N150,000 and N250,000
• Retailers: Between N10,000 and N20,000

Great job, you have a rough idea of how much you need for each of the levels. Now, let’s discuss the levels in more detail.

Mega dealers

The mega dealers, as their name implies, are the biggest fish in this business. They are the most popular in the industry so they are recognized all over the country. To run this business at this level, you must have sufficient capital.

These individuals purchase their E-pins in very large quantities from the different telecommunication companies. They, in turn, sell the pins to the wholesalers at prices that they determine. To become a mega dealer requires you to go through several scrutiny processes with the telecoms companies. However, once you are established, you make the biggest profits in the industry.

Wholesalers

The wholesalers are the next in the supply chain of the recharge card printing business. They purchase e-pins from the mega dealers and sell them to retailers. Usually, they purchase the pins at discounted prices and also sell at discounts to the retailers.

The wholesale level is also highly profitable even though it isn’t as profitable as the mega dealer level. You can make about N5 for each N100 recharge card that you sell. What this means is that if you sell N10,000 worth of recharge cards, you should be making N500. You are likely to make multiples of this amount every day considering how much people purchase recharge cards.

Retailers

The retailers are the last part of the supply chain before the final consumers. They purchase e-pins from wholesalers at discounted prices and resell them to the final consumer.

If you are on a small budget, this is the best point of entry into this business. You can work on your business and grow into a wholesaler and mega dealer from here with diligence. When starting the recharge card business at this level, you should look for areas with high human traffic. Setting up your shop at such locations will help you grow quickly and make more profits.

You can make between N1,000 and N5,000 daily on selling recharge cards. This is quite fair considering that you need very little capital to get into the business. Just so you know, you can also print your recharge cards at this level. We will show you how in the next section.

How to Print Recharge Cards in Nigeria

By now, you must be wondering, “can I print recharge cards in Nigeria?” Yes, you can and you can do it from the comfort of your home once you have the requisite knowledge. The good news is that you don’t need any expert skills to dive into this business. So, if you are not a computer guru, it shouldn’t be a problem.

What do you need to print recharge cards in Nigeria? Here is a list to help you out:

• A computer (laptop or desktop)
• Stable internet connection
• Valid email address
• A3/A4 paper
• Recharge card printing machine
• Software to decrypt the pin codes
• Startup capital

Now, let’s give you a breakdown of how you can print your recharge cards. Remember that what you are printing is e-pins. As we mentioned above, the mega dealers purchase these pins from the telecoms companies. You can either purchase your pins from a mega dealer or a wholesaler.

The next thing that you need is a software called Netdivo. This software helps you to decrypt the e-pins that you receive in your email upon purchase from the dealers. It then helps you to re-format the pins for printing. It is this process that produces the recharge cards that you are familiar with.

To activate Netdivo, you need to pay a token of N9,500 only. Once you pay this amount you have access to all the features of the app.

After you pay this amount, you will get the following:

• The complete version of the Netdivo software.
• Sample e-pin file for training purposes.
• Contact details of the top e-pin dealers of every telecom provided in Nigeria.

At this point, you need to practice the use of this software as much as you can. Doing this helps you to understand the use of the app. Here is a summary of what you should do to print recharge cards:

• Download the software on your computer and pay for it.
• Get a good internet connection.
• Order e-pin codes from a dealer and make payment.
• Decrypt the pins using the Netdivo.
• Print out the recharge cards and sell them.