How to Make Money in Lagos Nigeria

Posted by Felix Okoli on Saturday February 11, 2012 9:48:6:

According to a 2009 CNN report on Lagos, it is adjudged as the worst place to work in the world not because you can't make money there, but because of a lot of other things which are affected by the Nigerian factor. Despite that, Lagos has a ready market, a growing population, a working government, peace loving people and the most ethnically diverse community of people living in Nigeria

Lagos is safe for your investment
Lagos is unofficially, the most populated city in Nigeria because of her past as the former capital of Nigeria and because of her history as a trade center which also involved slave trading. Now it is growing into a megacity and population with various investments keeps swelling the city which despite its small land mass when compared to other states in Nigeria. If there is anywhere in Nigeria where you want to make a good investment that has adequate security, Lagos has got to be it.

She is a mini-Nigeria
Lagos has grown as one of the safest cities to live and work in Nigeria because you can find almost every tribe there from Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Edo, Efik and so on. Several languages are spoken that you can't really say for sure which one is most popular besides Yoruba mostly spoken in the South West. Lagos is a city that works for both the high as well as the low class citizens and it keeps providing opportunities for people even across West Africa to make money and quickly too from their investments.

In terms of shopping, there is a saying that there is literally nothing you can't find in Lagos before you can find it anywhere else in Nigeria. Even the latest cars, newest tech gadgets and others make their way to Lagos first before going to most other places in West Africa.

So how do people still make money in Lagos Nigeria?
If you don't know this yet, then you should, Lagos is probably the easiest and fastest place to make money in Nigeria, being a former capital city with the colonial master's touch, huge population as well as infrastructure.

Some profitable businesses you can do in Lagos Nigeria
- Imports: It doesn't really matter what you import, just import something that people need and you will sell fast
- Retail business: Just buy in bulk and sell to end users for profit. Stuffs like provisions, books and fashion sell fast too
- Internet Cafe: Majority of Nigerians especially students visit cafe for most part of their youthful life
- Computer center: People need computer services from time to time for jobs such as printing, typing and so on.
- Selling recharge cards: GSM and telecommunication is in vogue now and everyone needs to recharge one time or the other. You could make a quick turnover with this business.
- Food business: Everyone eats and with the large number of people in this city, you can make a good living just selling food even if it just breakfast. People need food and don't really have time for cooking.

What to do
- Identify a product or service that you can offer to people
- Mass produce it and reduce cost
- Target your market
- Decide on how you want to get paid. If possible, don't offer credit
- Expand your business with loans if you can repay them else forget about loans
- Use the internet to get more sales
- Make your business contact more public

Small business pays in Lagos
There's no business like your business and even if you don't have time for doing business, you can just setup one and pay people to do it for you. In Lagos, small businesses are growing fast and the amount of money you can earn from doing small business is much better than what you may earn keeping a salaried job.

Pay your taxes
If you are doing business and earning money in Lagos, you should know that the government frowns at people who evade taxes and the best way to avoid all the wahala is just to pay your taxes even before the tax man investigates you. It is better to even pay a little tax than not pay anything at all because that would be a criminal offence which could take you to jail. So avoid tax evasion but you could help reduce your taxes by claiming some allowances and benefits depending on your status. Just ask an accountant or even a student accountant if you don't know much about taxation.