Business Prospects in Nigeria: 01
The country and the government has been striving for growth in businesses within the country, both small scale and medium scale businesses. This seems to be the best solution to the problems of unemployment, violence and vandalization, inflation, economy breakdown,unlawfullne, just to mention a few; Because the truth is Nigeria is in trouble and it needs saving. It needs me and you.
In my own opinion, we should have gone past the part of blaming the government and start looking up to ourselves for solutions. If we open our eyes to see the opportunities around us and maximize them, then the New Nigeria we seek isn't far from us. We have enough opportunity and avenues to start up something with or without the government, and with the current government supporting local businesses and local products, the likelihood for success is very high.
There are various sectors one can start a business in, both small and medium scale with Agriculture, Technology and Engineering having the highest possibility for success.
Talking about these sectors briefly; Starting a business/company in engineering might not be cost friendly at start up, but it will definitely pay off, Nigeria is looking to develop and all one need is to look at the trend and key into it. It could be providing a software and(or) hardware solution for a company, a sector(mining, refining, agriculture, power etc). But trust me, there are lots of prospects in there.
A business in technology is 'out of this world' when you get it right, this is because technology fits into all sectors convienently and will still boom. I mean, just get that idea right and the way the money will come in will scare you, not only that, it will create massive jobs, and will definitely solve some of the problems. Although different from engineering, but looks similar, it could be a program, a software, a solution, a device, etc. It could be existing solutions with upgrades and improvements.
Agriculture holds a lot of prospects especially in Nigeria with a very rich and fertile ground for cultivation. Do you know in the US and the UK, you have to use fertilizer to make your crops fertile and grow well, whereas in Nigeria even the weeds in your tomatoe garden are grow exceptionally well without the fertilizer. Trust me when I say Nigeria is blessed, it is.
Since the public civil service rule has stipulated that all civil servants do not engage in any other form of business except in Agriculture, so I will focus my first few write ups on Agriculture, and the possible business prospects in that sector.
I used to live in Enugu State and my Dad there had a fish pond and I was able to get a few experience first hand plus some other write ups I've read and I can tell you that a fish farm / a fish pond will be very successful in Nigeria. You will enjoy it for sure, playing with the fishes, and will put money in your pocket too!, when it is set up, you can feed them twice a day which means it won't take much of your time. Is it risky? Yes it is. Because of few factors like disease. But all businesses are risky.
Starting a fish farm can be in two folds, the starting stage and the expansion stage / full scale fish farming, but it advices to start small so you can get used to the technical know how of fish farming before expanding. To go legitimate, you will need registration which should cost around 10k-20k depending on where you are, but registration will not hinder you from starting your pond, that can come later on.
For the early stage of fish farming it could cost alittle. First you would need land/space, it could be at the back or side of your house. You could buy a tank or just build the pond, depending on the type of fish you want to grow. Then you will need water, lots of it. Well maybe not like you are thinking but definitely plenty of water. Having a well around is perfect for the water source.
So let's say you want to have a cat fish pond and you want to build the pond, you have the space, there is water source and you have like 150k and you will be able to spare like 40k every month. Let's go for 550 fingerlings of catfish.

Requirements for Start up
Blocks, Cement, Sand, Concrete and labour, net - 75k - 100k. It is advisable to have more than one compartment for the pond. Like 2 or 3.
Building you pond about 4 or 5 blocks high, and please cover the pond with nets, and good net will be good, but try and avoid metal nets, it could harm the fishes. Make inlets for food and water, and outlet for water
Pumping of water into the pond - 5k - 10k. If the money is much, you can buy water if you don't have a well, borehole or a stream around.
550 Fingerlings of catfish - 17k. High breed catfish.
Feeds for feeding the fiahes - 4k per bag.
Start up total: 130k, plus like 10k miscellaneous.

Running Cost
Changing of the water 5k-10k, water should be changed like once a month for good health of the fish
Feeding 5k in two weeks on the average = 10k per month.
Grand Total in 7months: taking the higher of the price range: 247000,...... 247k

And in reality, the prices could not be as high as that above, because at first, your fingerlings will not consume much food, and your fish pond might contain even more fingerlings and then fishes. Plus you may have a source of water that water that won't cost you as high as 70k in 7 months as we considered. But Let's leave it at that above.
Also considering that you can divide this money into parts as you won't need all 247k all at once, you will need about 140k for your first month and about 30k monthly afterwards.

Fishes grow fast and should be mature and can be sold between 6months and 8months of breeding.
And guess what, the market for fish is increasing and does not look like it will reduce provided the population is increasing. So as long as people are living, there will be people that will want to eat fish.

The turn over is very high, let's say 530 fishes survive after about 6months, selling at the standard price of #800 per fish, 530x800 = 424,000...... 424k.

That's more than 180k gain in your investment. The more fingerling you start with, the more the turn over. You can expand the whole set up for about 200 fingerlings and get up-to 100% profit or more. And there are no competition in this business.
If you want to take this up, this should give you a guide, but also ask people for more information and start making some cool money and you can employ people when you take it to a larger size.

I believe so much in this country and it's potentials so let's start living up to expectations. This is the first of this series and there are definitely more to come.
Sanni Ibiyemi

C.E.O E-Naikob Global Stores