27+ Businesses Young Entrepreneurs Can Start For Free Or Cheap

In the face of a global economic crisis, entrepreneurship seems to be the most viable solution. But then, starting a business does not always require a seven-figure capital or more, as most people believe. In fact, there are many businesses that require little to no capital.

There are a lot of business opportunities that new and existing entrepreneurs can start in Nigeria, Africa or anywhere around the world with zero capital. While some are online businesses, others are traditional offline businesses that require no special skills.

If you want to start a business for free or cheaply. here are 27+ businesses you can start in in Nigeria, Africa or anywhere around the world.

1). Network Marketing:

Do you need any capital to start network marketing? In most cases, no. Network marketing or multi-level marketing works by selling for brands or companies and enlisting other marketers into your ‘downline’ to sell for the company as well.

As your downline marketers sell and enlist others into their downlines, you get commissions for every sale. No capital is needed. All you have to do is sell and invite others to sell and make commissions too in Nigeria, Africa or anywhere around the world.

2). Social Media Management:

Two decades ago, this wasn’t a thing. But with the dominance of social media platforms, companies, brands, public figures, government bodies, celebrities, institutions, and much more, all require individuals who can effectively manage their social media accounts to achieve certain goals.

The target of social media might be to simply inform, engage with or convince the public to convert. Whatever the case may be, you don’t need a dime to become a social media manager. Free tools are available online to make tasks easier.

3). Start A YouTube Channel:

The internet is available to all at almost close to nothing in terms of fees or charges, except for the actual internet data subscription fee. If you have any topic of interest, niche, activity, talent or hobby, you could start a YouTube channel and post engaging videos regularly.

Your ability to engage members of the public and build a strong viewership determines how much you earn from your channel in Nigeria, Africa or anywhere around the world. It is one of the most popular businesses young entrepreneurs can start for free.

4). Freelance Writing:

Freelance writing, ghostwriting or copywriting are all related writing services that young people with the needed skills can venture into and make a lot of regular revenue.

Freelance writing does not require startup capital but it involves certain skills which could be learned on the job and in paid copywriting courses organized by trusted learning platforms like Coursera and Udemy.

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5). Influencer Marketing:

Almost every social media user has a favourite influencer on one platform or the other. Celebrities typically fall in the category of social media influencers because they have massive followers but anyone could also become a social media influencer in Nigeria, Africa or anywhere around the world.

Once you’ve successfully built an account with a lot of followers who regularly engage with your content, you can advertise products for brands and companies and get commissions for each sale.

6). Blogging:

Blogging is one of the digital businesses young entrepreneurs can start for free. Blogging involves creating engaging content in any niche for members of the public to read and engage with.

Although it involves little startup costs like paying for web domain and hosting, blogging opens you up to a lot of money-making opportunities, including paid ads, brand sponsorships, affiliate marketing, and more.

7). Dropshipping:

Dropshipping is a unique form of digital marketing in which you as the entrepreneur get to bridge the gap between buyers and sellers. You receive orders from buyers and complete the orders for them with the sellers and have the products delivered to the buyers without directly getting involved.

With drop shipping, you don’t need a stock or physical store in Nigeria, Africa or anywhere around the world. All you have to do is receive orders online and ensure that the seller delivers the right products to the buyers. For each transaction, you get a handsome commission.

8). Proofreading And Editing:

Proofreading and editing is not just a professional service but one of the easiest businesses that young entrepreneurs can start for free. Proofreading and editing involve a careful analysis of written texts to identify grammatical, semantic and other errors, and correcting them.

Like copywriting, proofreading & editing requires training but these are skills you can acquire on the job or through digital classes.

9). Photography:

Gone are the days when photographers needed an expensive camera set and a physical store to get started. With the aid of the internet and phones with quality cameras, you can make money from creative photography in Nigeria, Africa or anywhere around the world.

You can capture amazing images of events, nature and people and put them up for sale as stock images. However, if you intend to cover events, it is important to get a proper camera.

10). Online Tutoring:

Learning can be successfully conducted over digital mediums. You can start an e-learning programme and tutor people on various subjects or disciplines as you are capable of teaching.

Online tutoring does not have to be formal curriculum-based learning alone; you could teach people crafts, vocations, modern skills, etc. right online in Nigeria, Africa or anywhere around the world.

11). Start A Podcast:

A podcast is the audio counterpart of blogging. Like blogging and vlogging on YouTube, all you need to do is create a platform for yourself and discuss engaging and interesting subject matters.

As your listening audience continues to grow, you stand a chance to earn through ads and you get returns directly from the podcast platform.

12). Waste Paper Collection:

Waste paper collection stems from the global efforts towards recycling the earth’s limited resources and avoiding wastage. As sophisticated as it sounds, anyone could start a waste paper collection business with zero capital in Nigeria, Africa or anywhere around the world.

First, you need to network with trusted recycling companies. Then, visit regular areas and institutions such as schools, government offices, secretariats, printing presses, and much more where papers are used and usually disposed of. Collect these waste papers and sell them to the recycling facilities.

13). Consultancy Services:

If you’re a trained professional in any discipline or business whatsoever, you could make a living out of advising others on what lines of action to take or where to invest their funds. In other words, you could start an online consultancy business.

Once you’ve established yourself online as a trustworthy expert in various fields, you’ll get clients who are willing to pay for your professional advice and guidance.

14). Public Speaking:

Public speaking is one of the most underexplored businesses that young entrepreneurs can start for free anywhere they find themselves. Although oratory is a talent, the art of public speaking is a skill that can be learned.

Your ability to combine both makes you a prime target for marketing brands, radio shows, motivational seminars, and much more in Nigeria, Africa or anywhere around the world.

15). Graphic Design:

If you’re skilled at sketches, animations or other related designs, starting a graphic design business is a trusted route to earning a lot of regular profits.

Graphic design also requires continuous training but you can improve your skills online. To get started in this business, create a strong digital presence for your brand and target the right market, including SMEs. Big brands and record labels.

16). Personal Fitness Training:

If you’re a fitness expert, you could start fitness training without spending a dime! You could make videos of exercise routines, post them on YouTube and make money from the videos you post through ads and sponsorships.

On the other hand, you could train individuals who need personal trainers to help them stay committed to their fitness goals and get paid handsomely in Nigeria, Africa or anywhere around the world.

17). Daycare Business:

Daycare, child care or nanny business remains a lucrative business that young entrepreneurs can start for free but not many people are aware of this opportunity. If you live in an area with a lot of working-class parents and nursing mothers, you have a great market for a daycare business.

The best part is, you can start this business right in your home. Once you’ve earned the trust of the clientele, the market is bound to expand.

18). Interior Decoration:

Starting an interior decoration business requires little to no capital. You need to inform members of the public of your skills and decorative ideas. The internet is a great avenue to achieve this.

Once you have created enough awareness, you’ll get jobs from individuals and firms looking to lift the face of their apartments or offices .

19). Data Retail Services:

One of the many opportunities that came with social media and the internet is the need to subscribe to gain internet access. Every web user requires data subscriptions to carry out any activity online, and this creates room for the data retail business.

You could serve as the link between network providers and internet users by selling data in small bits to web users. There is no questioning the market for this business because people need internet access for their day-to-day activities.

20). Resume Writing:

Resumes and CVs are important career documents that determine to a great extent an individual’s chance to land a job. Hence, job seekers and professionals in various fields leave their resume writing to professional resume writers.

If that is you, you have a lucrative business in your hand. You could also include CV reviews and consultation services to increase your opportunities.

21). Event Planning:

Event planning is a business for people with great organizational skills and a strong sense of planning to ensure that every sector of an event is in place, ranging from logistics to feeding where necessary.

Organization and planning of events are now in vogue and are highly lucrative. It remains one of the top businesses young entrepreneurs can start for free in Nigeria, Africa or anywhere around the world. However, it is important to build your network to make the best of this business.

22). Web Design:

Like graphic design, web design involves creating designs, but this time, it involves programming and interactive web pages and websites to provide netizens with a great user experience.

Web design requires hi-tech knowledge and skills, which might cost you money but it is a highly-rewarding business in Nigeria, Africa or anywhere around the world. All you need to do is create a platform where clients can reach you and see your portfolio.

23). Translation Services:

Foreign institutions, embassies and business organizations are always on the lookout for translation materials to help expatriates navigate through language situations. This makes translation services important.

If you’re a polyglot, this is a business for you! You could create translation materials and put them up for sale or render direct real-time translation services. Either way, you can make a lot of money just from speaking more than one language in Nigeria, Africa or anywhere around the world!

24). Dance Instruction Services:

For great dancers and choreographers, starting a dance instruction business is a great way to make money without having to invest any capital. You could start by creating paid instructional dance videos online.

On the other hand, you could personally tutor groups or individuals and get paid for your services in Nigeria, Africa or anywhere around the world. Also, you could get to work with schools that organize dance training sessions for their students. The opportunities are there for you to explore!

25). Music Tutorial Services:

Like dance instruction, music tutorials or training is also one of the talent-based businesses that young entrepreneurs can start for free. If you’re a great singer or you have rich experience in creating great music, you could make money from teaching others.

You can train people over the internet or hold special physical sessions with them and get paid for your instructional sessions in Nigeria, Africa or anywhere around the world. You can equally tutor students at schools.

26). Virtual Assistant Services:

The complexity of modern society and the world of work makes it increasingly difficult for people to singlehandedly handle their everyday personal and business activities. Hence the need for an assistant. To remove the extra cost of going about with a personal assistant, most people prefer virtual assistants.

As a young entrepreneur, you can work as a virtual assistant right from your home and still get paid handsomely in Nigeria, Africa or anywhere around the world. Once you have great organization skills and can use certain digital tools, you’re good to go!

27). Errand Services:

As implausible as it sounds, errand services are a viable business that generates a lot of revenue with zero startup costs in Nigeria, Africa or anywhere around the world. It involves running basic errands for people across town. The errand services business is another system to help people go about their day-to-day activities smoothly.

You could start as a single errand personnel or employ the services of young people and create a platform online where members of the public get to request their services and pay.

28). Counselling Services:

Counselling is one of the professional businesses that young entrepreneurs can start for free in Nigeria, Africa or anywhere around the world. This is a business in which trained experts render professional guidance services, and help provide support and empathy to distressed people.

The good part is, you don’t need a physical office to start a counselling service. Although you have to be professionally certified, you can practise online.

To Sum It Up

It can be frustrating to get stuck with business ideas that require massive capital as an entrepreneur. But these low-cost businesses could be your starting point. If you’re looking for low-cost business ideas to choose from, you can choose any of these 27+ businesses for free and get started today.

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What are your thoughts on these 27+ businesses that young entrepreneurs can start for free in Nigeria, Africa or anywhere around the world? Let me know by leaving a comment below.