Are you a student looking for the best, easy-to-start, and highly profitable online business to start in Nigeria and make money without interrupting your lectures? Then we’ve brought you 25 of the smartest and most legit ones.
A lot of students want to have a source of income that will help them financially while in school. Doing menial jobs can bring you some income, but they are time consuming, and as a student, time really matters. That is why online business is the best option to go with.
However, getting the best one for you may be difficult, as most stuff online in Nigeria is usually a scam. But that doesn’t mean there’s no legit one to start. In fact, there are lots of them.
That is why we’ve come up with this post to show you some of the most profitable online business ideas for students in Nigeria. The businesses we will be showing you are not time consuming. In fact, you can do them in your free time or at night at your hostel.
The cool thing is that you don’t need much capital to start. In fact, you can start some without investing a dime.
Without further ado, let’s get started!
Top 25 Online Business Ideas for Students in Nigeria 2023
Online businesses that a student can start in Nigeria in 2023 include:
1. Blogging
The first online business for students in Nigeria on this list is blogging. If you have a hobby or have information that people can benefit from, you can start a blog, post your information and make money from it.
Blogging business is by far one of the best and easiest online businesses for students. This is because as a student, you should be able to write, and with that writing skills, you can make money. In case you don’t know, you’re reading a blog post now.
From posting the latest news and trending music to creating a simple guide (e.g, how to do something), you can blog about anything you’re passionate about. Starting a blog is very easy, as all you need is to buy a domain name, and launch your website.
All these should cost about 20,000 to 30,000 to get started. You can make money from your blog in many ways including Ad placement by Adsense and Ezoic, sponsorships, affiliate links, and so on. If you get everything right, you could be making up to $500/mo in just 6 to 12 months.
2. Mini Importation
Mini importation is one of the newest and untapped online business ideas to start as a student in Nigeria. This business is very profitable, as not too many people have been involved.
Mini importation business involves buying products from China, importing them to Nigeria, and selling them for good profits. With this business, you can make millions of naira as a student.
The profit margin of this business e is juicy, as you can make up to 200% ROI per product. For example, you can buy a wristwatch for N1500, sort the shipping, clearing, and forwarding fee for N1500, and sell the wristwatch for N10,000 in Nigeria, keeping a profit of N6,000.
You can also buy and sell other products from China in Nigeria and make a lot of money. This business is an ideal one for students, as fashion products are very easy to market, and also sell fast amongst students.
Learn More: Step By Step Guide to Mini Importation With Little Capital
3. Freelance Writing
As a student, you should be able to write. So, you can turn that writing skill into a money-making machine online through websites like Fiverr and Upwork that allow you to write for people and get paid.
Freelance writing is the easiest online business for students in Nigeria, as you already have the needed skill to get started. You can get started for free and make money.
As a freelance writer, you have the opportunity to work anytime you like, and the money you can make depends on how much time you can put in.
4. Affiliate Marketing
Both for students and non-students, affiliate marketing is a good and legitimate way of making money online in Nigeria. It involves recommending other people’s products and services and getting paid a commission whenever the person you recommend the products to makes a purchase.
Affiliate marketing is very easy to start. You can start for free and make money. Perhaps you can use other paid advertising mediums if you want to make quick and more money as an affiliate. You can also promote affiliate products on your blog to drive free sales.
There are lots of affiliate programs and networks you can start within Nigeria. They include Opay, PalmPay, WarriorPlus, Shareasale, Amazon, Expertnaire, and so on. All these platforms pay well, and you can make up to N50,000 or more per product.
5. Become a YouTuber
YouTube is commonly known as the home of funny videos in Nigeria, as a lot of Nigerian Youtubers are comedians. Just like blogging, you can post tutorial videos on YouTube and make money.
You can start a YouTube channel right from your hostel and make money, as it is free. All you need to do is create good videos, post them on YouTube, and start getting views.
There are many ways to make money on YouTube, but the most popular one in Nigeria is through Ad revenue. Once you meet the YouTube partner program requirements, that is having 1000 subscribers, and 4000 watch hours on your channel, YouTube will start paying you ad revenue through Adsense.
You can also make money on YouTube through affiliate marketing, sponsorships, and so on.
6. Become a Social Media Manager
Whether you’re a high school student or a university student in Nigeria, managing other people’s social media accounts is one of the easiest businesses that you can start without any investment whatsoever.
You can get paid by companies to help them create and post engaging content, and also reply to comments and DMs on their social media pages most especially Instagram. This business is very easy to start, and you can get paid up to $1000 (₦500K+) per client.
To start, you just need to create a social media page management gig on freelance websites like Upwork, and Fiverr. There are lots of companies that go there to source social media managers. Perhaps, you can dm small businesses’ social media pages and offer them your service.
7. Amazon KDP
If you have very valuable information or you’re good at writing stories, you can easily turn that into an online business that makes money passively. Amazon KDP offers you the opportunity to create e-books and publish them online for sale.
From writing short stories to publishing a guide, you can sell all types of e-books online as long as the information it entails is valuable. The amazing thing about selling ebooks online is that there is no limit to the amount of money you can make, as you can publish hundreds of books.
8. Graphics Designing
Graphics design is a very good online business for students in Nigeria both at the secondary and tertiary levels. It involves graphics design skills and then offering it as a service online on freelance websites.
Graphics designing skills are very easy to learn, and you can design graphics on your phone using Canva. That means a mobile phone is the only thing you need to start the business. You can make a lot of money designing graphics like logos, banners, flyers, and so on, then selling them online.
9. Video Editing
Just like graphics designs, you can make money online as a student by offering a video editing gig. You just need to learn how to edit videos, then sign up on Fiverr and Upwork, and start making money editing videos for people. You can make up to $100 or more per video edited.
10. Forex Trading
Forex trading is an increasingly popular business to start as a university student in Nigeria. You can make a lot of money trading foreign currencies online from Nigeria.
Forex trading requires a fairly huge upfront investment and comes with a lot of risks. However, you can make millions of naira within a month if not a week from the forex market. All you need to get started is a smartphone or PC, and know how to trade forex.
11. Web Designing
If you’re a computer science student and seeking what business to start online as a student in Nigeria, why not try web designing? As a computer science student, you must have gotten some basic web designing training, you can just monetize the skill by offering it to people looking to build websites.
You can get clients for your web design business on Fiverr and Upwork, or perhaps, dm small businesses on Facebook and Instagram to create or maintain their websites for a fee. As a web designer, you can make hundreds of thousands of naira per website created.
12. Make Money Online Taking Surveys
Not much like a business, but you can make money online as a student in Nigeria by taking surveys of websites such as Swagbucks, and InboxDollars. Companies pay research platforms a lot of money to see what people think about their service.
Here, you get paid to fill out those surveys. This can be done in your spare time, it is very easy to start, and no investment is required. You can make up to 50,000 Naira monthly by taking online surveys. The more survey websites you join, the more money you’ll make.
13. Dropshipping
Just like mini importation, dropshipping is a very profitable e-commerce business that involves buying products for cheap prices online and selling for profits. What made it different from mini importation is that instead of shipping the products to your place, you’ll have the suppliers ship them to the buyers’ location.
Dropshipping is very easy to start, and you can operate the business in your free time. The profit margin is also great, and you can start the business with less than 50,000 in Nigeria.
Learn More: Complete Dropshipping Tutorial in Nigeria to Earn Dollars
14. Sell on Jumia, Jiji, and Konga
As a student, you can get involved in ecommerce business by selling on websites such as Jumia, Konga, and Jiji. These websites let you list your products on their platform, and expose them to millions of their online audience helping you sell faster.
From electronics and appliances to phones, laptops, and even fashion accessories, you can sell all legal products on these ecommerce sites.
All you need to get started is to find the products to sell, list them and start making money. With little capital, you can sell second-hand items such as phones and laptops on Jiji.
Learn More: How to Start Selling on Jumia in Nigeria
15. Sell Photos Online
If you’re seeking what online business to start as a student without money, websites like IstockPhoto, Alami, Shutterstock, and Foap offer such an opportunity. If you can take some wonderful photos of things like nature, and upload them on these sites, you’ll get paid royalties whenever someone downloads a copy of your image
16. Get Involved in Crypto
Just like trading forex, another trending online business for university students in Nigeria is crypto trading. The rise of cryptocurrency has led to the creation of many millionaires in Nigeria, especially among the youth.
You can make a lot of money buying and selling, or even holding different types of cryptocurrency such as bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, etc. Crypto trading also involves taking risks and requires an investment of both money and time.
17. Flip Social Media Pages
Buying and selling digital assets such as social media pages is another untapped online business for students in Nigeria. This business involves looking for active and engaging social media pages like Instagram accounts, Facebook pages, Facebook groups, etc, then buying, and reselling them for good profits.
You can either post those pages on forums or Facebook groups to get buyers or list them on sites like Fameswap to get quick sales.
18. Flip Domain Names
Domain flipping is another untapped digital asset online business for Nigerian students. It involves buying domains with great prospects and reselling them for a good profit. To do this, you can buy a good domain name from various domain registrars, or an expired/aged domain website like expireddomains.net, then sell for profit on sites like Flippa, Empireflipper, and GoDaddy’s Domain Auction.
19. Start an Internet Marketing Agency
Although not too popular in Nigeria, you can make a lot of money starting an internet marketing agency in Nigeria as a student. This business involves helping businesses promote their products on the internet through paid advertising and organic reach.
There are lots of small businesses in Nigeria that want to promote their products on the internet, but don’t know how to. You can offer them your service and get paid a reasonable amount of money. To start this business, you must understand what internet marketing is and how to do it. You can watch YouTube videos to learn it all.
20. Become a Social Media Influencer
If you’re seeking what online business to start as a student on social media, becoming an influencer could make you some serious cash. As an Influencer, you get paid by companies to advertise their products on your page to your followers.
This business is becoming more and more popular amongst University female students in Nigeria. From using Instagram and Twitter to Facebook, TikTok, and even WhatsApp, you can become an Influencer on any social media platform, and make money.
Influencers on Instagram get paid up to millions of naira per sponsored post. Influencers also have the opportunity of signing endorsement deals worth huge amounts of money with notable brands. Also as an Influencer, you can create and promote your own business like a clothing line, cosmetics line, and so on.
21. Online Tutoring Business
As a student, you can also teach online to make money. If you’re good at a subject or a specific topic, like English speaking, you can sign up on platforms like teacheron.com, and find people seeking online teachers either for themselves or their children.
Read Also: Top 50 Daily Income Business in Nigeria Right Now
22. Print On Demand Business
Print-on-demand is another profitable ecommerce business to start in Nigeria for students. Here, you can turn your designs into cash via sites like printinvo, which allows you to upload your graphics designs and sell them as business cards, t-shirts, banners, flyers, mugs, stickers, etc.
Attractive designs sell faster, so you can use basic design tools like Canva, create eye-catching designs, then upload them to POD sites and start making money. Most of these sites don’t require any upfront fee, as the revenue generated will be split after making sales
Other print-on-demand websites to explore include Teespring, Redbubble, Zazzle, and so on. On these sites, you can get paid in dollars, as they mainly get US buyers.
23. List Properties Online
Listing properties online is one of the newest online businesses for students in Nigeria. It involves finding properties up for rent or available for sale in your areas such as homes and apartments, then posting them on websites like Jumia House, Tolet, and Private Property, and making money as an agent.
All these can be done on your phone. You just need to sign up on those websites, take the picture of the properties, then post them. Once you find someone interested, you can always meet offline and charge an agency fee after exploring and securing the property.
24. Create an App
Mobile apps on Play store and App Store make a lot of you. You too can create an app, and monetize it with display ads, or subscription services to earn some good money online. If you don’t know how to code, you may feel this is not for you. Fortunately, you can get developers from sites like Toptal, Fiverr, and Upwork, then pay them to create an app for you.
All you need is to have the capital needed, have a unique app idea, know your targeted audience, and launch the app online when it is ready, then start making money. The more users you get to download and use your app, the more money you will make.
25. Sell Courses
Selling courses online is one of the easiest and most lucrative online businesses to start as a student in Nigeria, as it has the potential of generating millions of naira for you passively in the long run.
If you’re skilled in a field like local stuff production (e.g bead making), programming, internet marketing, graphics design, crypto or forex trading, blogging, AI, and so on, you can earn money teaching people all these by creating a course. You can launch your course on websites such as udemy and skillshare for free, and make money. These websites already have a lot of audiences worldwide that are ready to buy your courses.
Make Money Online as a Student in Nigeria – FAQs
How can a Nigerian student make money online in Nigeria?
As a student in Nigeria, you can make money online in different ways such as blogging, writing paid content, taking surveys, selling on Jumia, Konga, and Jiji, publishing books on Amazon and selling photos online.
What are the best online business ideas for university students in Nigeria?
The best online business ideas for students in universities in Nigeria include blogging, freelancing, publishing books on Amazon, taking surveys, becoming a Youtuber, becoming a social media manager, and so on.
What is the best online investment for students to make money in Nigeria?
The best online investment for students to make money online in Nigeria is either cryptocurrency or forex.
Conclusion
As a student, having a source of income is great, as you won’t always have to call home for money. The best money making ideas for students in Nigeria is online.
This is because many menial jobs in the country don’t pay well. So, if you’re looking for the best online business ideas for students in Nigeria, I believe one should suit you out of the whole 25 listed in this post.
this is very useful but how do i start with selling photos online? do i create a website to start with?
You can start with sites like Foap and Shutterstock
Nice and very useful but how do i start afflite marketing
Wow mr ola thanks for this information but Please i just need more lite about bloging
Nice and useful but how do i start afflite marketing
Want to start affiliate marketing