Trading: The easiest business one can do in Nigeria

Posted by Felix Okoli on Thursday August 31, 2017 at 15:9:53:

In Africa, Nigeria is one of the top countries where people can do business profitably and one of the reasons for this is because, with over 100 million people living here, she is the most populated nation in Africa and hence a profitable marketplace.

There are many forms of business people can do in Nigeria but from my experience, the easiest one can do is Trading - Buying and selling. All it requires mostly is to buy items at a low price and sell them at a higher price for profit.

A lot of people have become millionaires in Nigeria just by simply buying and selling things they don't produce. They leave the job of production/procurement to the manufacturers/importers who have to go through a lot of hectic processes with the government before producing/importing their goods. The traders simply just has to get those needed and already produced goods at a discount price and sell them to users and a higher price.

The risk involved in buying and selling is much lower that the one involved in manufacturing and it requires less capital to do so.

Being a trader in Nigeria basically requires that one has a shop or outlet where goods can be displayed to the public. He may only need to pay some fees to the local government as well as personal taxes to the state government so as to be allowed to do the business of trading. With the advent of the internet in Nigeria, more and more traders are even doing business without the need for a shop but rather a web presence.

When it comes to internet or online trading of goods in Nigeria, sellers simply need to post an advert or listing on a website which may be theirs or available to the public such that a potential buyer may be able to view it and make a buy decision. The seller may then decide to deliver to the buyer and collect payment on delivery or in advance. The online listings normally contain relevant information such as the picture, specification and price of the good being offered for sale by the seller.

In Nigeria, traders hardly lose money as long as they keep stock of non perishable good quality items since their prices always appreciates thanks to the eroding value of the Naira. Experienced traders have always known this and that's why they prefer keeping a good stock of goods in their store rather than money/Naira in the bank.

A trader doesn't have to produce anything or approach the government to get rights to produce them but they just get the items from source A and sell them at source B for profit and the more sales they make, the more profit they get hence growing their business capital. A trader doesn't need a huge capital to start the business of buying and selling in Nigeria as there is hardly a monopoly in that sector.

Many people who do trading of goods in Nigeria tend to do it with little or no employees in their payroll and they only have to pay for things like warehouse space, shop rent and minor expenses.

It's the easiest business to do in Nigeria as it requires little start up capital, fewer employees and doesn't attract much government regulation. It's one of the reasons why many Nigerians are already doing it.