The Naira and Your Income: 5 Ways to Beat the Nigerian Economy (2022)

Photo by Ovinuchi Ejiohuo on Unsplash

“God!!! The price of this guitar has gone up again.” That was the third time in 3 months my friend, Niyi was complaining about the price of a guitar going up. In case you’re wondering what happened, you should probably have an idea. He contributes the money for the price of the guitar which he saw the month before and when he decided to buy, viola!, the price has gone up again. This has happened 3 good (maybe bad) times and as the time of this writing, Niyi is contributing again.

If you are a Nigerian, living in Nigeria, I am very sure you can relate to what I am saying. Just last week, I wanted to buy Hollandia Yoghurt to step down, nobody told me to opt for Coke when I was told the price is now 950. “Jesu Kristi!!!” I exclaimed in my mind. The truth is that this is the reality of most Nigerians, especially the poor and the middle class who can barely afford these things lately. The saddest part about this is that salaries are not increasing neither is the government making it easy for businesses with their policies but in usual fashion as Nigerians, we adapt. Using the popular slang- We mueve! However, in recent days, there has been a lot of “solutions” have been proffered by “experts” on how to survive in this economy we find ourselves. Some have said earn or save in dollars, some have said start a business that is not dependent on the government, others have said learn an high income skill, trade cryptocurrency, and things like that. While, all of these are viable solutions, not everyone has access to all the information here and definitely not everyone will record successes in these if they decide to venture into it. In other news, some of the “solutions” need some capital to start which is a disadvantage for some (if not most people). While there are pros and cons, advantages and disadvantages, it cannot be denied that the average Nigerian needs to find a way to increase his income.

In this article, I am going to explain 5 extra income ideas to help you beat the Nigerian economy. Some with very little to start, some, you only need the will to start, some you’d need “capital”. In all, you’d have to find which suits you and grow with it.

1. Freelancing: The funniest question you’d about freelancing in Nigerans asking you if it can make you good money. The answer is yes and no. That’s only because of one reason-You. Every now and then, I meet young Nigerian who have only started freelancing for a week say things like “I’m tired”, “I’m not getting any response”… while these reasons may be valid, they are not enough. Freelancing is not something you start today and stop tomorrow or quit because a client has not hired you. It’s a business that can make you loads of money if done well or treated like you any other business. As long as you have a skill that people are willing to pay for, you can be a freelancer and make good extra income with it. One other excuse that Nigerians give is that freelance platforms like Fiverr, Upwork, People per Hour don’t accept Nigerians. That’s not close to being true. While it might be difficult to get clients at the beginning, the talk of not a ccepting Nigerians is not true. You can always check Google for Nigerians on Upwork or Fiverr. One other things most Nigerians don’t consider is that they can freelance right in Nigeria without looking for clients abroad but everybody wants to “earn in dollars”. If you have skills like website design, social media marketing, copywriting, UI/UX design, you can definitely freelance in Nigeria or on freelance platforms. The most interesting thing about this is that you don’t need money to start, you only need to have a skill and the will to succeed. Thinking of beating the Nigerian economy earning extra income? this might just be your pathway.
2. Logistics Business: If you have been wondering why there has been a lot of bikes with box on the road lately, it’s because the Logistics industry in Nigeria is booming. You should however note that there are challenges to this business and you’d definitely need money to start and some registrations to start. This guide HERE will give you a breakdown on how you can get started with starting the business in Nigeria. In addition, the boom of the E-commerce business, coupled with certain infrastructural development in Nigeria has contributed to this growth. It was reported that the Nigerian Logistics was worth $48.5 million in 2019 and was projected to increase by 72.5% by 2023. With the recent pandemic, the growth might just have increased. So, if you are willing to take part of the cake, you can give it a shot and earn extra income.
3. Affiliate Marketing: If you do not know what affiliate marketing is, it is as simple as selling a product for a commission. This product can be either physical or digital. The truth is most of us do affiliate marketing without being paid for it. Think about your friend that is a graphic designer and you refer him to a client who needs his services, or you mum’s friend that sells ladies wears and you refer you girlfriend to buy from her. You’re basically being an affiliate but you’re not getting paid for it. However, there are platforms that offer affiliate marketing services with payments. There is ClickBank, JVzoo which are global platforms but Nigerians might find it difficult accessing those platforms or getting paid after making sales. This problem might have been solved by Toyin Omotoso who created the Expert Naire platform strictly for Nigerians to make money as affiliates selling digital products they don’t have to create for a commission. The interesting thing about using the platform is that commissions are as high as 50% and affiliates are paid into their bank accounts every friday. Another reason Expert Naire might just be the most profitable affiliate platform is Nigeria is that affiliates get access to a training that teaches them how to go about selling these digital products with ease via the 72IG program. With this business model, you can make an extra 200k- 750k every month. If you want to know how to get started, WATCH THIS VIDEO. A lot of affiliates are using this business model to beat the “useless of the naira” and the Nigerian Economy.
4. E-commerce: E-commerce is basically a short form for electronic commerce. It’s simple as using the internet to sell your physical products. Some people start it as mini-importation, some as importing from China or Turkey and selling the products using the internet here in Nigeria. E-commerce could be business-to-business, business-to-consumer,. consumer-to-business or consumer-to-consumer. As long as these transactions are made via the internet, it’s E-commerce. What most people do in Nigeria is contacting suppliers from China for products, get them here in Nigeria and sell. However, not everyone who starts this business records success with it. This is largely due to the fact most people do not research the market or product before buying them. This is not something you are willing to risk when you’d probably spend money on goods. Jonathan Melody who has generated over 30 million naira with this business explains how to get started with E-commerce in his book. You can get it HERE or if you want him to take you by hand in the e-commerce journey, CLICK HERE. This will cost you some money to start but is it worth it? I think you know my answer already.
5. Be an Influencer: If you are an active person on twitter even though the Nigerian government recently “banned it”, you might have seen some comments like “ Pamilerin is a yahoo boy?, what does he do for a living?”. That’s exactly how much being an influencer can get you. While, I would tell you that this is not an easy feat to achieve, you can actually make extra income from it. Maybe, not like Pamilerin has because that has take years of work, you could still have a share of the influencer industry in Nigeria. Please, influencing is definitely not “Like for Messi, Retweet for Ronaldo” even though some people got to the influencer level from that. It takes you being consistent and giving out value of a niche you are knowledgeable in or educating your audience on a particular topic consistently. You might not make a dime from this in your first month, second or third but it can make you a lot of money. Your consistency can get brands in your niche to reach out to you for campaigns and things like that.

So, still willing to beat the naira and the Nigerian economy in 2021? take one of these business models above and run with it. Remember consistency will take you places.