10 Cheapest Businesses to Start in Nigeria (2024 Best Picks)

To say Nigeria hasn’t happened to everyone would be a fallacy. It has gotten to the point where, when you are working 9-5, you still have to have a side hustle to patch up your finances.

Here, we will be listing the 10 cheapest businesses to start in Nigeria with little to no cash. There are digital businesses and physical businesses, so we will be discussing both.

List of Cheapest Businesses in Nigeria

1. Data Reselling

Do you know banks make money just by selling data to you? By being an agent for these network providers, you earn a particular percentage every single time you buy from them!

Data reselling is one of the cheapest businesses to start in Nigeria this year. According to Punch, Nigeria’s data usage rose by 202%, and to start data reselling, you only need ₦5000 to start with your target audience.

There are several websites looking for agents to resell data for them. Also, you can directly contact the network providers to resell their data.

2. Sneakers Resale

It’s not news to us that regardless of what is going on, Nigerians love fashion, and sneakers are a plus.

Sneaker selling or reselling is one of the most lucrative businesses one can venture in. No wonder people keep joining the train. Guess what? You don’t even need to have the capital to start. All you have to do is partner with that man at the market who sells in bulk, snap his sneakers, post them online, and add your cut.

With your ₦3,500 data, you are already making extra income. Tell me what other businesses can be that cheap!

3. Delivery Agent

You can start this from your street or school, especially with students. All you need to do is find busy people around who find it difficult to get their groceries and help them get them.

Of course, they will pay for your transport and the extra that comes with helping them to get it.

You don’t need any money to start this, all it takes is your time.

With this cheap business, you can grow into expansion and have branches. It starts with your time and no money.

Becoming a delivery agent is definitely a way to get started if a cheap business is what you need to start immediately.

4. POS Business

Of course, there are a lot of people doing this. Do you know why? Because it is cheap and lucrative. Everyone is tired of queuing to withdraw, everyone is tired of the bank.

Some of the students affected by the marathon ASUU Stike already started this POS Business with little or no capital

daily income business in nigeria — ASUU Strike POS Business

Though unlike the aforementioned, you need extra start-up costs. However, it is still cheap. You can start this business with ₦30,000 to ₦50,000. With this kind of business, you start small, look for a place in need of a POS, plug your seat there and help people as you get rewarded.

5. Bale Business

This type of business requires you to buy bulk used clothes in large quantities from foreign countries and resell them in Nigeria. Nigerians are known for buying bale clothes so you don’t need to worry that no one will buy them.

You can start with ₦50,000. If you feel you can go higher, you can start with ₦100,000, but you must know that there are different budgets for the amount you have.

With ₦50,000 and 250 clothes going for ₦200 per clothes plus the extra you are going to add on it because of transportation, you are already in business making money with cheap capital.

6. Airtime Business

As much as there is an increase in the surge of Nigerians using data, our elderly ones are still stuck with buying physical cards because they have no idea how the digital world works. By selling and reselling airtime, you can make extra income while working on your main job.

There isn’t so much gain when it comes to airtime business but it keeps the money productive at least. You can even opt to sell it digitally to your social media friends and families.

7. Real Estate Agent

As Nigerians, we have all heard of the ridiculously high fee real estate agents require just because they helped you find a house that suits your taste. Their fee is mostly non-negotiable.

Do you know why this is one of the cheapest businesses to start in Nigeria? Because most people are looking for houses, Nigerians are always moving, and moving implies that you need a place to stay.

As a real estate agent, all you need to do is put out awareness, either through your status or through word of mouth and you will find both house owners and house hunters looking for you for business. You don’t even need so much to start.

8. Offering a Designing Skill

Do you have design skills like graphic design, product design, web design, etc. Every business out there needs graphic designers to help push their business out there. However, you need almost nothing to start this business.

It takes learning the necessary digital skills to become wanted and guess what you can scale in a short period. Find what is reigning, learn it, and be in high demand.

So if you are looking at the cheapest businesses to start in Nigeria whilst you work remotely, Selling a design skill could be your best fit.

9. Freelance Writer

People are ever in need of writers, so if you are looking for the cheapest businesses to start in Nigeria that requires little to no money, opt for writing, and hone your writing skills.

However, you must understand that in writing, there are different types, we have fiction writers, SEO writers, blog writers, ghost writers, technical writers, NFT or Blockchain writers, copywriters, nonfiction, article writers, UI/UX writers, etc. And all these you can start with just your mobile phone and data.

Simply use your data and mobile phone to learn, get jobs, complete the jobs, and get paid. Nothing extra.

10. Affiliate Marketing

The selling and reselling of digital products have been one of the ways Nigerian youths generate income lately. Most times, the sellers have a website where their products are, you sign up and for every sale, you make for them, there is a commission you get. They majorly give a percentage in commissions and still give other remuneration at the end of each month.

Some also offer incentives, such as referral bonuses, best marketers, etc. With this type of business, all you need is your mobile phone, your data, and your willingness to work.

However, the big boy’s affiliate marketing goes beyond selling and marketing people’s business in Nigeria. It involves joining tier one countries’ affiliate and CPA networks like SEMrush, Fiverr, shareasale, CPAgrid, Commission Junction among the rest.

Even Learnoflix and Expertnaire can’t match those aforementioned networks when it comes to affiliate marketing. The good news remains that you need only your phone, laptop, and active internet connection to start.

Compare Other Business Ideas in Nigeria

Final Take

There are a lot of cheap businesses to start in Nigeria, both digitally and physically, all you need to do is to create a niche, find your audience, build on it, and expand as time goes on.