TOP 5 SECTORS TO INVEST IN NIGERIA – 2019

Let’s look at the top 5 sectors of the Nigerian economy you should consider investing your money in.  Whether you are a micro-entrepreneur or owner of a big multinational company, opportunities abound in these sectors.

1. AGRICULTURE

Agriculture is perhaps, the most important sector of the Nigerian economy.  Experts say investments in agriculture can guarantee significant revenue for the investor. They note that depending on the investment and the type of farm, investors can profit through many different ways. Experts say agriculture can effectively serve as the other source of income for an investor.

They say there are many different ways to generate income on farmland, and many of them are unrelated to the crops being grown. They note that if the farmland contains a large body of water, water rights can be sold or rented. For a farmland that is located near a major road, experts say there may be an opportunity to generate income from billboards placed on the land or from cell and radio towers that are built. They note that in some cases, it may be possible to sell recreation or hunting leases on timberland or near waterways.

Experts further state that a farmland can naturally accumulate equity in a similar way that real estate accumulates equity as mortgage payments are made. They say if there is a note or debt on the land, income from the farm will be used to pay down the principal, and equity will begin to accumulate.

They say investing in agriculture may not provide immediate returns, but over the long-term, it can pay off greatly. Experts say there is much less volatility in farmland and timberland than in other types of investments, meaning adding agriculture to your investment portfolio can provide continual stability with the potential for an annual income.

2. EDUCATION

Smart Entrepreneurs are taking advantage of this to create wealth by establishing schools at all levels of education.  Also included in this sector are professional training and skill acquisition. The following are the top opportunities that abound in the education sector which entrepreneurs can exploit. The provision of education is a key element of a policy to promote broad-based economic growth. Education plays a great and significant role in the economy of a nation, thus educational expenditures are found to constitute a form of investment. This augments individual’s human capital and leads to greater output for society and enhanced earnings for the individual worker. An insignificant proportion of Nigeria’s financial resources is spent on education.

Education is regarded as the best legacy any parent can give to his children because it brings out the innate ability and skills in the child to apply in solving any problem in every human endeavour. It is therefore seen as an investment. This shows that for any nation to maximize the benefits of education for sustainable development, it must invest heavily in education. This is one of the reasons the importance of education will continue to receive the attention of all stakeholders both at the local, state and federal levels in Nigeria.

3. ENTERTAINMENT

Entertainment is one of the top sectors to invest in Nigeria. The Nigerian entertainment industry is booming with a contribution of 2.3% to the country’s GDP.  A 2017 PWC report stated that Nigeria will be the world’s fastest growing entertainment market in the next five years. 

At the moment Nigeria’s film industry, Nollywood is said to be third largest in the world and Hollywood and Bollywood and her music sector is leading in Africa with many local artistes now having international collaboration with top artistes.

A lot of investment is required to drive the entertainment industry and most of this will come from the private sector. Some of the areas that provide opportunity for entrepreneurs include:

Movie production – The movie production subsector is a multi-billion Naira industry. The movie producer handles all the technical and financial arrangement required in making a movie.

This will range from providing suitable camera and other equipment, making arrangement for locations, travels, costume, make up etc.  It is a whole lot of work which requires huge investment and sound management skills.

Music Production – Another hot area in the entertainment industry is music production.  There is a growing number of up and coming artistes who are looking for good studios to record their music.  The key to success in establishing music studio good quality equipment and highly qualified technical staff such as sound engineer and an eye for attracting artiste whose songs may become a hit.

Video Production – Video production has to do with covering events and producing the video the appropriate format.  You will need good camera, equipment for editing, and good location to operate from.Your market is wide and includes movie producers, party planners, and corporate organizations for their conferences, AGMs and events.

4. RETAIL TRADE

Retailing is one of the fastest growing sub-sectors of the Nigerian economy and this will be so for a very long time due to growing population, rising consumption, improvement in technology, rise in mobile payment and growing sophistication of the working population.

Retailers provide massive amount of goods and services to households including food, appliances, furniture, clothing and much more.  The opportunities in the sector are massive and that is the reason popular global brands such as Shoprite, game and spar use that to their advantage.

The type of retail business you can start in Nigeria will depend on your capital and skill. From a once corner grocery shop or your unit neighbourhood store to the large supermarket chain and specialty stores – the opportunities are enormous. What this means is that you can start retail trading at any scale your finances can and still be profitable. 

5. SOLID MINERALS

Nigeria is richly endowed with solid mineral resources.  Unfortunately, this is one of the areas that have been neglected by the government over the years due to the preponderance of oil in the Nigerian economy.  However, efforts are on to revitalize the sector and investors are welcome to take advantage of emerging opportunities in this sector. 

Some of the solid minerals resources that Nigeria is endowed with and for which opportunities exist for investment include gold, bitumen, lead,  zinc, iron ore, coal, columbite, silver, sand, gypsum, glass and so many others.

Areas open to investment in this sector include

Mining – This entails setting up a company  that will deploy relevant equipment to extract these solid minerals such as gold, lime stone, zinc etc from the soil and refining these resources for sale in the local and export market.

Transport Services – Providing transport and logistics services specifically to the solid minerals sector.  Your transport company will provide haulage services to lift the solid minerals or metals from the mining sites to the factories where they will be processed.

Equipment Rental – You rent mining equipment such as caterpillar; churn drill, steel pump engine, Conveyor Bridge, etc.  Due to the high cost of all these equipments, most miners prefer to hire them for their operations.  A big business opportunity thus exists here for an entrepreneur who has the resources to invest in equipment leasing business to the mining sector.