What are the most lucrative businesses for students in Nigeria and how much can you make from each of them? Which of these businesses is the highest paid? All these questions and more will be handled in the course of this article. So, do well not to miss a line as you have a lot to learn here.
As a student in Nigeria or any part of the world, you need a side hustle. I mean you need something you can do and earn income while you study. It is called work and study.
This is one area where other countries are thriving and using fight poverty, but despite the fact that the appropriate authorities are not giving appropriate attention to this sector, you can still do something for yourself.
In this post, I am going to share top 10 highest paid businesses or side hustles which you can do as a student in Nigeria.
Before then, I would love to say a few things you need to know before considering any option.
Quick Take Home Tips
1. While studying, choose a business and maintain it. Establish yourself and make yourself known for that particular thing other than being a jack of all trades.
2. If you already have a business before getting in to the university, do well to maintain it, except for some important reasons you wish to switch.
3. It is hard to balance business with academics. It is almost impossible as one must take more of your time than the other. Prioritize your academics.
4. Erase the lie that you can start a business with zero capital. That is a pure lie. Whatever you invest or use to start any business of any sort is seen as the capital.
5. In a case where you do not have a capital to start a business, consider involving a partner where both of you own and manage the business. Both the profit and risks would be shared by the both of you.
Top 10 Best Businesses for Students in Nigeria (Side Hustle)
Under this subheading, you’ll learn a list of high paying businesses which you can start as a student, what you need to start and estimated income.
1. Dry Cleaning
This is one of the most popular and lucrative businesses out there especially if you reside in students-area. This involves washing, drying and ironing people’s clothes while you get paid.
These days, each cloth is dry cleaned for 500 Naira or more. That means doing that to 20 clothes a day fetches you 10k Naira daily. Obviously, one can do more than 20 clothes daily.
For some of my friends who are into this business, they make between 100k-200k monthly after all expenses have been removed.
Capital:
To start this business, you need washing machine and dryer, electric iron, waterproofs for packaging, etc. Everything may cost you between 250k and 400k. It all depends on how big you want to start.
2. POS Business
This is another lucrative and popular business a student can start. It in involves daily financial transactions outside of the commercial banks.
Once, I managed a POS business for a client who paid me monthly. For each day, I made about 5k-10k for her as a starter. She just started the business. That means in a month, she makes average of 150k in profit while her money still rolls back to her.
Capital:
One needs some capital or tool to start this business. First, you need a POS machine issued to you as a merchant by a bank. One of the most popular banks issuing POS machines is Monie Point.
All you need to do is to head over to their office in your start, register and get a machine for yourself.
You do not need so much money to start a POS. You can start with as little as 50k – 100k while you increase it with time.
3. Academic Writing
This aspect of side hustle involves academically sound students and researchers.
Some students in the university do not have so much time to handle their assignments or other academic writing.
This also involves freelancing for foreign clients where you write for students from different universities of the world and get paid in different currencies.
Capital:
You need a fast laptop which would be able to process data given to it. You also need a good Internet connect and social media pages where you’ll be publicizing your work.
Oke can earn between 100k-300k monthly depending on the client and nature of the work.
4. Boutique
Opening a small boutique in a student area is very strategic. Students, especially the big boys and girls, like to get new outfits for themselves from time to time. You can introduce them to patronize you.
If there is any particular uniform which your department or school wears, you can bring in that particular color and start supplying to students.
While this may require a bit of huge capital, if you can afford to open it, do well to start it. However, consider the pros and cons too.
Capital:
You need a physical shop which you need to rent. I recommend finding one in an open place. You need to stock your shop with clothes in high demand. You need between 400k-1M to start this.
5. YouTube Channel
This is another fantastic business for a student to start. Though it is online based, it is worth venturing into.
YouTubing is the process of sharing your ideas or thoughts in form of video. At some stage, you will start getting paid for sharing your ideas but you need to meet their requirements.
So many students in Nigeria are millionaires through YouTubing and it is a strong recommendation to all my readers.
However, this is not meant for everyone, it is only designed for those who are consistent and patient. If you are looking for a get rich quick scheme, please do not try YouTube.
Capital:
Getting a YouTube channel is free. However, you need tools to get start with. If you are planning to start a faceless channel, you may need a microphone, capcut pro, chat GPT Pro, etc. These amount to the capital you invest in the business.
YouTuber makes at least $100 before he gets paid and an average YouTuber makes at least $200 monthly in Nigeria.
6. Blogging
Blogging is another digital business where you get a website, create contents, monetize and earn from them. For instance, this website is monetized and the owner is getting paid for it by advertisers who are interested in placing ads on his website.
Blogging complements YouTube and they are both in the same industry of content creation.
Capital:
To start a blog may cost about 50k-80k depending on several factors. Soke websites go way above this budget.
A blogger in Nigeria earns between 200k-2M monthly. Some bloggers earn way more than one can imagine. I am a blogger and I know exactly what I am talking about.
To get started with setting up your blog, you can reach out to us through our contact page.
7. Selling Girly Things
I know how much girls like to show off and enjoy certain trendy little things. Smart ones take advantage of opportunities like this to make cool cash.
There are so many girly things to sell, and you can publicize them on social media. These items include:
- Beautiful phone pouch
- Shoes
- Beautiful key holders
- Girly looking bangles and necklaces, etc
Capital:
To start this, you may need about 50k-100k. You may not really need a physical shop to get started.
8. Catering Services
Catering is one of the trending services in universities now where one is focused on making meals for people while he/she gets paid for it.
Some students really may not have time to make meals for themselves or even go out to buy, they prefer to order the service of a caterer who does everything for them at a fee.
Capital:
You need social media presence to showcase your culinary skill.
A caterer makes between 50k-100k monthly depending on the size of his/her customers.
9. Handcrafts
This involves what you can make with your hands. For instance, I have a friend (EleojoBags on YouTube) who makes beautiful beaded bags, bangles and leather bags. That is her own handcraft.
When she started the business, it was going slowly and she almost stopped because she thought it was not worth the effort since she was not making any sales. In the third month, she made over 250k Naira from beaded bags and bangles within a month. She made this as a student.
Handcrafts pay heavily overtime and it keeps fetching you passive income as long as you keep it consistent.
Capital:
Capital is based on the nature of the business. Some require more capital than others.
Handcrafts can make you between 50k-150k Naira monthly if well done.
10. Lock-up Store
Lock-up Store, just as it is popularly called, is best in a student area where you sell student stuffs. If you must venture into this, you need to be very strategic with what you choose to sell. I do not recommend that you sell any random things in your shop. Sell only what students need.
Capital:Â
This may require between 300k and 500k depending on your taste.
Learn a skill
If you do not have any skill yet to start a business with, then it is high time you started learning something.
There are so many high paying skills out there for you to learn. In Nigeria, it is highly recommended that you get a skill before you graduate from the university as it gets tougher outside.
Learn skills like:
- Bead bags making (you can check out eleojo.bags on tiktok)
- Video editing
- Content writing
- Shoe making
- Fashion designing
- Copywriting
- Programming
Conclusion: Top 10 Best Businesses for Students in Nigeria
Starting a business in any part of the world is one of the hardest things to do, especially when you are new in the business. But one thing is sure; consistency and persistent makes it all easier overtime.
It is not just about having something to do as a student, it is about navigating your way financially during and after your education.
Hoe you were able to make a choice out of the list of Lucrative Businesses for Students in Nigeria. If you need more guidance regarding this, drop a comment below and someone would attend to you.
