Starting a business in Nigeria is simple but can be difficult at times, especially if you don’t know the country’s business terrain very well. Before we deal with How to start business in Nigeria, let’s first look into the reason why doing business in Nigeria is considered to be a good choice.

Highway near Aso Rock in Abuja

No matter who you are and your financial capacity, there is business for anyone to start in Nigeria at all level. Even without money, you can still start business in the country if you are smart enough and ready to master the art of trustworthiness, good service rendering, and how to run errand.

Nigeria is one of the best place to do business in the world in terms of profitability and competitiveness. Over 160 million people with reasonable purchasing power that is said to be one of the highest in Africa, makes it a top [go to] destination in Africa when it comes to business. 

The CEO of South Africa’s retail giant Shoprite, Whitey Basson, said in February that he saw scope for 700 stores in Nigeria, up from about 5 they have now, arguing that even if 60 percent of Nigerian population live in poverty, the other 40 percent still outnumber South Africans.

Some companies who have neglected the country in the past are left to bite their fingers with regret. A good example can be found in the telecoms sector. Many telecoms giant neglected the country, coming up with all sorts of negative analysis about how telecom business is bound to fail in Nigeria. It took the guts of MTN and Econet who where almost unknown in Africa then to invest in Nigerian market. As a result, these companies have been transformed from obscurity to one of the biggest Telecoms companies in the world through the success they recorded from the Nigerian market alone.

Other telecoms companies like Vodacom that turned their back on Nigerian market where made to lure their loses. Don’t let that happen to you, if doing business in Nigeria is in your plan and you have come with a business idea, you need to take the step now before others do.

Another thing that makes Nigeria one of the best place to do business is the issue of taxation. Though some companies do complain of back handedness and multiple taxation, Nigeria still remain one of the countries in the world with the lightest taxation and ‘not too’ complex regulatory framework.

If you are thinking of starting a business in the country, you need to understand how business works in Nigeria, the market evaluation, the risks, and the legal and bureaucratic frameworks involved.  In this article, I want to get as simple and straight to the point as possible on how anyone could start small to medium scale business in Nigeria hassle free.

Develop A Business Idea Peculiar To Nigeria

Idea is the first step towards starting any business anywhere in the world. You must have an idea of business you wants to venture into. Ideas sometimes goes together with passion, if there is something you are passionate about, it could be easy for you to form business idea base on that. 

Example: My passion for internet and computer is what helped me develop the idea for internet base tech company. Advantage of developing business idea base on your passion is that the passion you have for it will help you sustain the business in turbulent times. Browsing around this website, you’d get to see plenty of potentially profitable business ideas that may interest you, pick one that closest to your heart and work it out.

What you have on the table above are some of the business ideas that fly in Nigeria.There are hundreds of small and medium scale businesses that are profitable in Nigeria. Some of them you can find on this website.

Asking questions on the comment section may reveal more business ideas through readers contribution. Once you have a business idea you want to work on, the next thing is to develop serious business plan.

 Develop A Business Plan 

Proper planning is essential for the success of any business. Develop a robust business plan that includes every aspect of your business and follow it judiciously. Business plan is specially important because further to providing you with a clear set goal and objectives, it can provide a reference point you can return to at any point in time in your business. 

People tends to overlook this most important aspect of business without understanding the value. Just looking at a plan and seeing how far you have come is a great motivational tool to help you carry on. It can help you determine whether you have drifted somehow from your original vision and allow you to get back on track.

Read: Advice on Starting a Successful Business in Nigeria

Much have been said about the importance of business plan for entrepreneurs. Planning is the key to success in any venture, make you have a well written business plan before you proceed to start a business in Nigeria.

Register You Business 

Depending on the magnitude of the business you wants to start, you need to Register your Business in Nigeria with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to enable you do business in the country legitimately.

Hire a Lawyer to register your business and carryout other bureaucratic requirements. More so, your Lawyer will help formulate your business policy and operational legal terms.

Source For Startup Finance

Financing a business is one of the biggest challenge that faces any entrepreneur anywhere in the world and Nigeria is not an exception, but it can be sorted out easily especially if you are a Nigerian

Read: How to Raise Money for Business in Nigeria

With these few points, you can see that doing business in Nigeria may probably be one of the best choices you’ve made in recent time. Drop me a comment below and let’s see how we can help each other. Thank you!

+Darlinton Omeh on Google+ and comment below