35 Business Ideas That Move Fast In Nigeria And Africa

Small and large businesses are the soul of every country’s economy. Their successes or failures shows how well the economy is doing, and as a result, a nation’s growth is largely dependent on how well it supports its entrepreneurs especially as entrepreneurship is the fastest source of wealth creation all over the world, Africa, and Nigeria.

With newer support grants and financing schemes launching in Nigeria and many other parts of the world by governments and private organisations for entrepreneurs to take advantage of and build thriving businesses, here are 35 business ideas that move fast in Nigeria or Africa:

1). Pure Sachet Water Business:

The pure sachet water business is a famous street business in most parts of Africa because it involves the sale of sachet water, the most purchased type of drinkable water in Africa, to multi-millions of people every day as opposed to bottled water.

Starting a pure water business requires a little capital but it enjoys a steady guaranteed market, which increases during the warm seasons.

2). Point of Sale (POS) Cash Withdrawal Business:

A business idea that moves fast in Nigeria and other parts of Africa is the POS cash withdrawal business. The Point of sale business is a response to the delay in banks and ATMs to dispense cash to people. As a result, people would rather breeze into a POS point close to their homes and pay a token amount of less than $1 to withdraw money and save a lot of time.

To get started, all you have to do is get a secure spot in a busy area, get the necessary equipment and register with a local bank or financial institution issuing the devices.

You could set up a chain of POS points all across your city to maximize your profit margins.

3). Cake Making Business:

Over the years, cake making has become a highly profitable business that thrives on the endless demand it enjoys because of its use in celebrations, events, and also as dessert. It remains one of the fastest growing business ideas in Nigeria.

4). Hotel & Guest House Business:

The hotel and guest house business has been around for a long time but continues to grow due to the increase in the demand for lodges and accommodation, especially in tourism locations. In addition to housing and relaxation service, hotels & guest houses now offer events management services, entertainment shows and concerts, etc.

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5). Biscuits and Cookies Production Business:

A highly lucrative business idea that moves fast in the market is the biscuit production business. The industry has grown over the years from the regular kiddies’ biscuits to producing healthy snacks that can be consumed by both adults and children.

While biscuits and cookies production requires several permits and registrations with food regulation bodies, it compensates with its high profitability, fast sales and increased job opportunities.

6). Food Processing Business:

Food processing is classified into several forms. Whether you choose to process raw foods for longer storage or to prepare and deliver cooked meals, you’ll always enjoy a ready market. The success of the food processing business lies in the fact that food is a basic necessity for survival.

If you’re able to brand your business properly and focus on the market you understand most, you may be able to build a successful food processing business.

7). Bread Bakery Business:

In spite of the fact that the bread bakery business is saturated, the industry still fails to meet the daily demand of customers. If you can develop the right distribution channel, starting a bread bakery is a business idea that moves fast in Nigeria and other parts of Africa.

8). Event Planning:

Events like weddings, rallies, conferences, funerals, birthday events, conferences, and more happen everyday in Nigeria, Africa, and many other places around the world, making event planning a huge opportunity for entrepreneurs to venture into.

9). Foodstuff Production Business:

Foodstuff production is different from food processing. It involves production, sales and delivery of raw food items to retailers and end-consumers, depending on your business scope. Food is a daily human need for survival. Hence, it enjoys a steady demand.

To start the foodstuff production business, identify which particular foodstuffs are demanded the most market in your local market then network with local farmers and retailers to build a steady supply chain.

10). Oil And Gas Business:

People purchase petroleum products like kerosene, gas and diesel every day. They are the energy backbones of many small businesses in Nigeria especially as road transport workers, barbers, hospitals, boutiques, computer centres, and much more as they all require petroleum products to power their businesses.

While the oil and gas business usually requires a substantial startup capital, it is a business that moves fast in every part of the world.

11). Transport Business:

The transport business is a large industry that generates a lot of revenue every day because people or goods must transport themselves one way or the other to carry out their daily activities.

12). Hibiscus Tea Production Business:

Hibiscus tea or zobo drink has a large market among children and adults, especially in towns and low-cost areas. The zobo drink is full of healthy nutrients and is good for relaxation on a hot day. It can be taken alone but people sometimes drank with snacks or a full-course meal.

More so, the zobo drink business requires very little capital and no extensive skills.

13). Palm Oil Production Business:

The global palm oil market value is expected to hit $25 billion in the year 2025 at a CAGR of 5.6%. The rapid growth of the sector is fueled by the fact that Palm oil is a basic commodity needed every day across Nigeria and many other African countries.

14). Frozen Foods Production Business:

Frozen foods include food items like beef, pork, fish, prawns, catfish, chicken, and other related food items. The industry continues to thrive because people consume frozen foods every day so much that it is difficult for existing frozen food suppliers to keep up with demand. And during the festive seasons, the demand soars, exploding sales and increasing profits.

15). Sports Betting Vendor/Store Business:

Sports betting is widespread in Nigeria and is likely here to stay. The 18+ business moves fast and generates lots of profit for sports betting vendors and companies. The good thing is that the business advertises itself. All you need is to locate your store at a safe popular spot in town and the business will grow.

16). Poultry Business:

Starting a poultry business in Nigeria or other parts of Africa opens you to a lot of opportunities. If you have the right distribution channel to hot-buying places like hotels and restaurants, your poultry business will grow.

Similarly, you could add egg distribution to the poultry business and still make lots of profits.

17). Beer Parlour Business:

The beer parlour business is a venture that generates a lot of revenue on a daily basis in Nigeria and other parts of Africa. It is always active all week long but is most busy on the weekends when most people unwind after the week’s work.

18). Snail Farming Business:

Snail farming is a lucrative business that thrives in most parts of Africa because of the appealing taste of cooked snails. In most parts of Africa, snails are eaten as a dessert or used in other delicacies and its selling point is that it is highly nutritious and tasty depending on the breed.

19). Sports Viewing Center Business:

This business thrives on the people’s love for sports but their inability to subscribe to sports channels on cable TV. Some who can still prefer to watch at a viewing centre so that they can have people to debate with.

It is a business that runs daily, but with much activities on the weekend because of the amount of games that are played.

To startup, all you need is a good location, as well as the basic equipment like TV sets, cable TV subscriptions and a standby generator.

20). Clothing Boutique Business:

Most people want to dress and look good. And to do this, they sometimes go to a clothing boutique to purchase clothing that can give them the image they want to portray.

Although the fashion industry is saturated, clothing boutiques enjoy a steady market demand because people constantly buy items to wear especially those who are interested in always updating their wardrobes to meet up with the latest fashion trends.

21). Dry Cleaning Business:

The dry cleaning business is a popular community business idea that move fast. Most working-class people do not have the luxury of time to do their own laundry by themselves, so they resort to using laundry services mostly in their community.

22). Restaurant Business:

Every day of the week, people visit restaurants for meals; whether breakfast, lunch, supper or just to catch up with a friend or colleague, to go on a date, or to spend time out with family.

In essence, the restaurant market base is endless and since food is a basic life need, you’ll always have customers; with the volume depending on the area the restaurant is set up.

23). Soap Making Business:

Soaps are basic items used in everyday hygiene, making the market demand tremendous. The soap making business makes a large component of the cosmetics industry, which was worth well over $62 billion as of 2019.

You can start a soap making business with little capital and grow it quickly from there.

24). Makeup Business:

Makeup is a cosmetic business idea that moves fast in Nigeria and Africa as a whole because a lot of ladies highly prioritize looking beautiful. Also, makeup artists use a lot of makeups in their works provided they’re of top quality and give the required results.

You could start producing top quality makeups, brand them and market nationwide.

25). Egg Supply Business:

The egg supply is one of the top lucrative business opportunities associated with the poultry business because people consume billions of eggs everyday.

You can start purchasing eggs from a poultry for supply or starting a poultry of your own and supplying the eggs to the market. To succeed, you’d need a strong distribution system.

26). Building Materials Business:

Building materials are not everyday resources. However, the growth in real estate and construction of modern buildings and facilities have all boosted its marketability. Week in, week out, people purchase building materials, both for new construction and for maintenance purposes.

You can start a building materials business by setting it up in a busy town with a lot of construction activities ongoing to enable you to reach the right market easily.

27). Plumbing Business:

Plumbing is an essential part of building construction industry. It can be lucrative depending on the target customers and because there’s always a need for plumbing activities, it can be scaled up into a large enterprise.

In addition to rendering plumbing services, you could also sell plumbing materials for use by other plumbers and homeowners.

28). Ice Block Production Business:

Almost everyone loves their drinks cold, especially during hot periods of the year. However, not many small businesses have access to refrigerators, and even those who do lack steady electricity to power them. Ice blocks come to the rescue.

Ice block production does not require much technical knowledge and you can start right from your home by icing water and selling the blocks to grocery stores.

29). Car Wash Business:

The influx of automobiles into Africa creates a lot of opportunities, one of which is the car wash business.

The car wash business is one of the business ideas that moves fast in Nigeria and other African countries because a lot of people have little time to wash their cars themselves.

You can start one in a busy area with residential estates and office complexes and grow quickly from there.

30). Meat Production Business:

Anyone could start a meat production business in Nigeria and many parts of the world and make a lot of profits because billions of tons of processed meat is consumed yearly.

The industry is full of business opportunities for all, including selling raw meat, distribution, etc. All you have to do is network with a trusted slaughterhouse and build a strong distribution system.

The meat production industry enjoys a steady market but it requires some capital to startup depending on the scale you plan to build up with.

31). Popcorn Production Business:

Popcorn is one of the most commonly consumed snacks among children and adults. The market extends to areas like cinemas, schools, roadside shops, traffic, etc and can come in many flavours.

What’s more, popcorn production business is easy to start; minimal capital and little expertise required.

32). Barbecue/Suya Production Business:

Barbecue, more commonly known as suya, refers to grilled meat sold across Nigeria and other parts of Africa. Although suya is sold popularly at junctions at specific joints on the streets, it extends to restaurants and other business points.

Barbecue business requires minimal capital and it never runs out of market. You could also start a chain of barbecue joints at different locations to maximize your profits.

33). Shrimps Farming Business:

Shrimps are highly nutritious frozen foods consumed widely across Nigeria, Africa and many other parts of the world. As of 2019, the global shrimps market was worth over $39 million and it still enjoys a growing demand till date.

To start a shrimps farm, you need a good location and ponds. You could also use a couple of extra hands if your farm is a large one.

34). Supermarket Business:

A supermarket is your go-to store for all basic commodities and food items. Most people prefer supermarkets to the traditional markets because they provide a variety of items in well-labelled sections, thereby saving time and efforts.

Starting a supermarket is a great business idea that moves fast because people are always in need of food items and other basic items.

35). Chemist Drug Store Business:

A chemist drug store is the roadside store down the street where you get basic health care and drugs. For minor health issues such as headache, small domestic injuries and similar cases, and first aid care, drug stores are the point of call. It’s technically not a pharmacy.

To start a chemist store, you need to have been professionally trained and certified. You also need to have obtained permits from the necessary bodies.

To Sum It Up

There are tons of business ideas that move fast in Nigeria and other areas in Africa that you could delve into as an entrepreneur. Most of these business ideas require little to average startup capital and they enjoy massive patronage from the public.

Identify which of these business ideas that move fast works best for you and you may be able to start the journey to building a successful business.

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