Business

Businesses You Can Start With N50,000 Capital

Published

2 years ago

May 16, 2023

Nigeria boasts of about 41 million micro-businesses and 73,000 small and medium businesses, a survey by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria has shown.

This shows that an average Nigerian is an entrepreneur in one way or the other, and this is because of the unpleasant risk to financial stability, due to poverty, lack of education and insecurity. Regardless, many Nigerians have forged ahead to build a lasting legacy of financial freedom for the generation yet unborn.

However, when individuals are tasked with the gospel of creating passive income, or secondary income source, the usual tilt towards lack of funds as an excuse has shortchanged individuals from breaking the shackles of meagre salaries and financial limitations.

Despite, arguments and reports fueled by the high cost of energy and epileptic power supply, personal finance experts have led conversations on the need to embrace multiple streams of income. While this might sound like a fairytale, it is possible to expand your income base. Of course, by taking baby steps and starting with one business at a time.

Pressed for funds to start? Here are a few small businesses to start with N50,000 and above despite the harsh economic climes of the nation.

Point of Sale business

Point of Sales service is considered as one of the most lucrative side hustles to adopt. Even though, some Nigerians have fully invested their capital and rely on it for primary income, it is still an effective way to earn some extra cash on the side.

A full-time PoS operator, Taiwo John operating along Lotto, Ofada bus stop told The PUNCH that, “Although the startup capital to venture into PoS business full time will cost about N250,000, if you are doing it as a side hustle with N50,000 to N150,000, you can start. If you are getting two terminals, you will need like N50,000, that’s about N25,000 each.”

According to him, for starters, consistency will play a big role in determining the success of the business.

“This business is about trust, so after getting your accessories for about N25,000 you need to get cash to run the business and make sure you are always available when customers need you. Above all John, states that as a business owner, “you must pay attention to your profit rather than just making sales.”

The Point of Sale business has rapidly spread through the rural areas as it is quite easy to start.

In fact, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, the number of registered PoS operators has grown over the years. In January, due to the cashless policy, Point of Sales transactions grew to N807.16bn which signified a 40.69 per cent year-on-year increase from the N573.72bn transactions that were done in January 2022. This is a clear indicator that the PoS business is lucrative and there is a demand for the service.

Perfume business

The perfume oil business is another venture to go into. According to a perfume oil wholesaler living in Ketu, “Anyone can start a perfume oil business with as low as N11,000. I started mine about four years ago with just N24,000 and later I reinvested about N34,000 into the business. At the time, I was a retailer but now I am a wholesaler,” Tomisin Oke told The PUNCH.

Speaking on the profit margin recorded on the initial investment, she says that newbies can “Expect to make about 60 per cent to 40 per cent depending on the sales, but your gain cannot be less than 50 per cent half the time.”

Based on findings by The PUNCH, there are numerous wholesale distributor groups for oil perfume business owners.

Reaching out to one of the groups, a distributor explains that oil perfume retailers can start with capital as little as, “N11,000, 15,000 or N21,000. The N15,000 pack comes with 40 bottles of 3ml oils and you can sell for N500 per each. You can sell the 6ml for N800 to N1000 per each. And you can also do the payment on delivery.”

A survey report by Fortune Business Insight revealed that in 2020, the global perfume market was worth $29.8bn. This is largely driven by the demand for cosmetics and beauty. Even better is the fact that this business can be run from home without stress.

Thrifts clothes

The thrift clothing business otherwise known as “Okrika”(second-hand clothes) is considered as one business that favours small capital to start.

Patronised by a majority of Nigerians, this business is considered lucrative and quite easy to manage, all thanks to its affordability for the average Nigerian.

Speaking with thrift vendors, our correspondent gathered that there are major factors to consider before taking a deep dive but the business needs a little capital of N20,000 to N50,000 or more depending on the buyer’s pocket.

A wholesale thrift business owner in Ikorodu, Jackson Anadi, tells our correspondent that individuals can begin with N20,000.

He says, “If you have like N20,000 cash, you can start, but then it depends on your area. You look at your area what is really needed? Do you have more children, do you think the parents of these children will buy? Or do you have more young girls or ladies?

“Are they stylish? Do you think they would buy it? These are basic things to put into consideration. You have to take note of what is needed at a particular time, and after that, you can decide to sell.”

Another thrift operator in Osogbo, Aminah Abdulrauf, tells our correspondent that before venturing into selling thrift clothes, individuals must understand the customer’s needs and gauge the environment where sales will take place.

According to her, “If you are a newbie in this business, if you are selling to a community that has a high-class breed of residents, understand that they would prefer wares that are neat and high quality.

“So if you take clearance wears to them because they are cheaper to buy and sell, they may not buy.

“If your plan is to sell to students, then go for items like ladies’ tops, bum shorts and bralettes, or maybe nightwear. If you have more money to spare, you can add jeans to the mix. With N50,000 you can also invest in first-grade or neat clearance for that.”

Abdulrauf advises that for newbies, “Buy a small quantity first and then when the demand grows, you can then restock more of items that sold fast.”

Business

Naira Continues To Appreciate Against Dollar On Official Market

Published

4 hours ago

August 1, 2025

Editor

The naira continued its appreciation against the dollar at the foreign exchange market on Tuesday.

Accordingly, the naira strengthened further to N1,533.18 against the dollar on Tuesday, from N1,534.21 traded the previous day.

This represents a gain of N1.03 against the dollar on a day-to-day basis and marks the second consecutive day of appreciation at the official FX market.

Meanwhile, on the black market, the naira depreciated further to N1,545 per dollar on Tuesday from N1,537 traded on Monday.

Recall that the naira had similarly closed Monday’s trading session with mixed sentiments, recording gains at the official market but depreciating at the parallel market.

Business

Dangote Refinery Gets New CEO

Published

5 hours ago

August 1, 2025

Editor

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has appointed David Bird, the former head of Oman’s Duqm Refinery, as its new Chief Executive Officer.

A report by S&P global on Friday said, Bird heads the refinery’s petroleum and petrochemicals division in a strategic move to overcome production challenges and advance its next wave of expansion.

Effective from July 2025, the former Shell head of operations at its Balau Pokom refinery stepped in as CEO of the Dangote Group’s fuels and petrochemicals business, which commissioned the world’s largest single-train refinery last year.

Our correspondent also observed that the CEO participated at the just concluded Dangote Leadership Development Program Graduation Ceremony.

The appointment signals the company’s renewed focus on scaling production, streamlining operations, and positioning itself as a dominant force in Africa’s refining and petrochemical landscape.

The report read, “Nigeria’s Dangote Group has appointed the former head of Oman’s Duqm refinery as CEO of its petroleum and petrochemicals business as it strives to overcome production challenges and advance its next wave of expansion.”

It, however, noted that the Dangote Group founder Aliko Dangote, will remain as chairman of the refining business and CEO of the wider conglomerate, which is also active in cement, fertilizers and sugar refining.

The business is expected to tap Bird’s experience expanding the Duqm refinery and diversifying its crude slate as CEO of OQ8, a role he adopted months before the Omani complex began its first test runs in 2023.

Commenting on his appointment, Bird said his focus at Dangote will involve advancing the group’s footprint beyond the Nigerian market and across the African continent.

As CEO of the refining business, he will be responsible for ensuring maximum output and efficiency for the refinery, and aims to make the group a leader in the global market, a LinkedIn update noted.

The appointment comes after a string of unit upsets and “design issues” that have stalled the ramp-up process of the 650,000-b/d refinery, while its leadership has called out a hostile business environment for challenging its operations.

Since it was commissioned in January 2024, Dangote has quickly grown its market share in the Nigerian fuel sector, displacing large volumes of gasoline imports that the country once relied on.

However, Aliko Dangote has railed against “rent-seeking” trade partners and substandard fuel imports for putting strain on the business.

In a previous interview with Platts, Bird emphasised a trading-led approach to achieve a competitive edge in the refining sector, with a focus on high utilisation rates, efficiency and feedstock flexibility.

His approach aligns with a recent shift from the Dangote complex to process a wider range of crude grades, partially spurred by limited availability of the Nigerian oil it was designed to process.

However, the Nigerian refinery is still obliged to sell fixed volumes of its oil products into the domestic crude market under a naira-based trade agreement with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, a 7.2 per cent stakeholder in the business.

As the Dangote Group eyes its next wave of growth, it plans to expand the capacity of the Lagos refinery to 700,000 barrels per day, build out port infrastructure and establish foreign storage assets in Namibia and other countries.

In August, it is set to roll out its own distribution business with a fleet of 4,000 CNG-powered trucks.

Dangote Group officials have also shared ambitions to list the refining business on the London and Lagos stock exchanges, and Aliko Dangote reiterated plans to take the business public.

After years of setbacks and budget challenges, the speed of the refinery’s ramp-up in 2024 caught many analysts by surprise, and the complex quickly began exerting pressure on global oil benchmarks as it began exporting its products.

Yet despite beginning test runs on its main gasoline outlet, the residue fluid catalytic cracker, in Q3 2024, the company has since suffered repeated outages on the unit in 2025, forcing it to rely on its lower-yield reformer and sacrifice output over extended periods.

Speaking to Platts earlier in July, a Dangote executive said the RFCC was running at 85 per cent. He denied reports that the company will undergo a planned turnaround on the unit in December.

According to S&P Global Commodities at Sea data, Nigeria exported some 220,000 b/d of petroleum products in July 2025, when outages at NNPC facilities made Dangote the country’s only active refiner.

The complex exported 30,000 b/d of residual fuel, a refining byproduct which would normally be kept on site for further processing in the RFCC under normal operations.

Exports continue to be dominated by jet fuel, which accounted for 45 per cent of total shipments, and gasoil with a 24 per cent share.

Business

Petrol Tankers To Stop Loading Beyond 45,000 Litres By October 1 – IPMAN

Published

6 hours ago

August 1, 2025

Editor

The Western Zone of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria has said tankers will no longer load more than 45,000 litres of the product from October 1.

The Chairman of the zone, Chief Oyewole Akanni, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Ibadan on Friday.

Akanni stated that the measure was adopted in a joint meeting involving IPMAN, the government and other stakeholders, held to reduce the cases of petroleum tanker accidents.

The stakeholders, he said, are the Petroleum Tanker Drivers, Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority and oil marketers.

He said, “Before now, some tankers carried up to 90,000 or 60,000 litres, which was dangerous.

“Those big tankers damage our roads, as the trucks are made to carry far more than they were designed for.

“And when overloaded, they become unstable and fall, causing accidents.”

Akanni stated that the government had also mandated all tankers to install safety covers that prevent spillage in the event of a crash.

“With these covers, even if a tanker falls, fuel won’t spill, except if the tank is punctured,” he said.

He, however, lamented the activities of vandals, who deliberately puncture fallen tankers to steal fuel, describing it as a major challenge.

The IPMAN chairman also said that PTD discovered that most accidents occurred at night due to fatigue.

“We have, therefore, instructed drivers not to drive at night.

“Once it is 7.00 p.m., they must park and continue their journey by 7.00 a.m. the next day, but some still disobey this directive,” he said.

Akanni assured that IPMAN would continue to work with stakeholders to ensure that tanker-related accidents were minimised.

He said that the spate of fatalities had triggered federal interventions, calling for stricter regulations, mass education, and enforced safety reforms.

According to Akanni, the incidents form part of a broader wave of tanker disasters across Nigeria.

“These are marked by systemic failures, including overloading, poor infrastructure, inadequate enforcement, alongside dangerous public practices like fuel scooping,” he said.

NAN