How to Make Money Online in Nigeria as a Student without Investment 2023 (19 Best Ways)

Last Updated on March 20, 2023

If you are seeking another source of income to supplement your monthly allowance as a student. Then you’re making one of the best life choices at an integral point in your life.

It is important to find ways to make money as a student in Nigeria. That’s why we’ve made this guide on how to make money online in Nigeria as a student.

If you’re intentional about how to make money online in Nigeria as a student then you’re at the right place. 

To make money online in Nigeria as a student will require that you set aside time (a few hours every day), good internet, a laptop, a smartphone, a product(s) or a skill. 

Don’t expect to make money without any skill or capital. You can either monetize your existing skills or learn new skills that can make money online for you.

Making money online usually involves selling a product or exchanging your skill for money. 

See: How to Make Money Online in Nigeria

You can make money online in Nigeria as a student whennyou can create and share content online, communicate and collaborate, and solve problems effectively and creatively using digital solutions.  

Also See: How to Make Money on Your Phone in Nigeria

Digital skills are also a great way to earn a good income in Nigeria.

Examples of top digital skills are content writing, design, programming, Product management, SEO(search engine optimization), data analytics & visualization, video creation and editing. Etc. 

In this day and age, having a digital skill is not only an advantage but a necessity. 

Also See: How to Make Money as a teenager in Nigeria

How to Make Money Online in Nigeria as a Student without Investment

There are different ways to make money online as a student for free and without investment, but the earnings tend to be limited. To really earn significantly, you need to invest time and resources.

Here is a list of the best ways to make money online in Nigeria as a student

1. Sell Online

 An online marketplace offers a great opportunity to make money online in Nigeria as a student. Basically, you’ll buy products at retail prices and sell them on online marketplaces like jumia and Konga or even Jiji. These are the places where some serious buying and selling takes place in Nigeria.

See: Best Online Shopping Sites in Nigeria

However, for every product, you sell on jumia or Konga they get a commission depending on the type of product sold.

The trick to making this hustle or business or whatever you want to call it to work is to find great products at good prices. To find great products you should consider profitable product categories like fashion, electronics, gadgets, and foodstuffs.

But if you think these categories are too crowded,  then maybe health & beauty, gaming and Baby categories should be your focus.

Some of the things you can sell online in Nigeria are: 

• Sell used books
• Sell customized T-shirt
• Sell Ankara fabrics
• Sell Ankara books, shoes and bags
• Footwear sales
• Sell fancy jeans
• Make and sell skin products
• Sell foodstuff
• Natural skin products
• Natural hair products
• Sell weave on
• Make and/or sell wigs
• Sell underwear for students
• Phone Accessories
• Sell used phones
• Sell perfumes
• Sell Jewelleries
• Create and sell artwork

2. Start an Online Store

The reason people use marketplaces like jumia and Konga is that they already have tonnes of traffic and you don’t need to start driving traffic to your online store or start developing or designing your eCommerce store in Nigeria from scratch.

Also See: How to Start an E-commerce Business in Nigeria

But starting your own independent online store in Nigeria has its benefits and it’s never been easier to start your own store in Nigeria. You can start a free online store today in Nigeria within minutes and start making money.

A lot of people have their own independent stores and are making so much money selling their own products that they made from scratch or selling other companies’ products. 

You too can do the same. All you have to do is.

• Pick profitable products or product categories.
• Create an online store in minutes.
• Push traffic to your store and start making money.

Here’s a guide on how to start a free online store in Nigeria.

3. Sell On Social Media

If selling through an online store seems like too much to do to you. Then you can sell via social media channels like Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Just make sure your page stands out amongst the competition.

Also See: How to Make Money with your Phone in Nigeria

4. Dropshipping

Dropshipping is a valid way to make money online in Nigeria as a student. Although it’s not an easy way either. It involves a lot of work because of the number of people doing it around the world.

Dropshipping involves selling products online, the only difference is you don’t have to buy and stock the products before you can sell them.

With your dropshipping online store, whenever a customer orders products, your store orders the product from a third-party supplier. The supplier then ships the product directly to your customer. You don’t see the product nor do you deliver it.

You can start a Dropshipping business with Oberlo or Spocket.

5. Buy & Sell Domain Names

The highest someone has ever sold a domain name was $16 million. “Insurer.com” was sold to Quinnstreet in 2009. Buying and selling domain names is a great way to make money online in Nigeria because domain names can be sold for profit in the future.

You can buy and sell domain names through auction by using domain registrars like Godaddy or by using dedicated websites like Sedo. However, buying and selling domain names comes with its own set of risks. It can take years for you to sell a domain name while continuing to renew it while holding the domain name.

Then there’s the legal issue where you have to stay away from trademarked names so a domain name of yours doesn’t lead to forfeiture. 

But if you can consider the risk and return thoroughly, then buying and selling domain names is a great way to start making money online in Nigeria as a student. Here’s a great guide to get you started.

6. Sell Pictures Online

The online photo-selling industry is a billion-dollar growing market, so the opportunity to make money online in Nigeria as a student by selling photos is amazing.

However, though, you must be able to take amazing pictures. For professional enthusiasts, this is a great way to earn some extra income for yourself.

Checkout: Best Games & Apps that Pay Real Money in Nigeria

Some sites that you can use to sell photos and make money are your site/blog, Shutterstock, 500px, Etsy and Foap.

7. Resell Unused Gift Cards

If you have gift cards that you aren’t using or know someone who does, you can buy them from them and resell them for some profit.

There are plenty of sites that you can use to sell gift cards in Nigeria. Some popular ones are Glover, Cardtonic and Cardnosh.

See: Best Virtual Dollar Cards in Nigeria

8. Freelancing

The freelance industry has continued to rise rapidly and is expected to reach $30 billion by 2025. However working as a freelancer is not easy, especially in our current ever-growing digital world.  A lot of other talented people are also looking for work as well.

So if you’re going to make money online in Nigeria as a student by freelancing then it is important you take these steps:

• Pick a profitable niche/field you skilled at or one that sparks your passion. Profitable fields include software development, web development, writing, graphic design, digital marketing, virtual assistant and even photography.
• Specify the services you’ll render. If you’re a designer, you can’t possibly do everything related to design like; UX, UI, visuals, illustrations, logos, advertisements, or complete brand identity. Pick one or two. Choosing specific services will help you make more progress as a freelancer.
• Assemble an appealing portfolio. Your portfolio is like your CV in the freelance world, it displays your approach as a freelancer. Your portfolio is a way for you to display your professionalism, and attract and impress clients enough so they hire you for their work.
• Find clients through Freelance sites and by advertising yourself online. Some popular freelance sites where you can make money online in Nigeria are Fiverr and Freelancer.

Read: How to Start a Successful Music Career in Nigeria

9. Blogging         

I know right. The old-age blogging. Yet blogging is one of the proven ways of making money online in Nigeria. 

There are two ways to make money blogging:

• By writing for someone else’s blog and get paid immediately (freelancing)
• Write for yourself/blog and make money slowly but consistently. (owning a business)

Your blog can be your online business or your side hustle. But it will take some time to build your audience and start making enough money from it. However, once your blog starts earning money, it doesn’t stop earning even when you sleep.

You can make money from your blog through:

• Ads (e.g Google Adsense)
• Affiliate marketing
• And even selling your own products or courses in some cases.

 If you can create videos around a topic(s) or are willing to learn how to. You can make money publishing videos on Youtube. There are a lot of people making millions by creating videos on uploading them to Youtube.

10. Monetized Youtube Channel

If you’re wondering what types of videos you can make for youtube that will help you make money online in Nigeria s a student; you can either make funny and entertaining videos or videos targeting a particular type of audience (home-staying moms, tech nerds, children and even students). 

To become a Youtuber, you must create a Youtube channel, create and upload videos to youtube and market your youtube channel. 

Here’s a more complete guide on how to make money from Youtube in Nigeria

Note: As at this time you need to have 10,000 views on your youtube channel to start making money from it.

Also See: How to Make Money on Instagram in Nigeria

11. Offer Professional Services Online

One way to make money online in Nigeria as a student is by selling your knowledge to people. You don’t necessarily have to be a recognised expert in your domain to become a consultant or teacher, you just have to be better than your student or client and be able to solve the problems you claim you can solve.

You need skills if you’re going to become a consultant and find clients online. For example, if you are a legal or finance professional, then you create a website or cultivate an online following, and start attracting clients online.

It is possible to earn any competitive skill online in a few months of dedicated time. So don’t be discouraged if you think you have no monetizable skills.

12. Social Media Influencer

If you have dreams of becoming an influential person or you are already one, building a big online following and monetizing that influence is a great way to make money. But to do this you’ll need to establish your value as an influencer. And to do this you’ll need to create high-quality content and constantly engage your audience.

You can make money as a social media influencer in Nigeria through

• Sponsored posts
• By joining an influencer network
• By working with Brands
• and even through your own products

13. Invest in Foreign and Local Stocks

You can make an extra income on the side by investing in stocks, especially foreign stocks. Although this comes with a risk and requires some financial know-how. 

When buying stocks it’s best to buy shares of companies that would be around for a long time. If you’re interested in investing in foreign stocks in Nigeria.

You can start investing in foreign shares in Nigeria through apps like Trove and Bamboo. You can also check out our e-book on investing as a Nigeria.

14. Invest and Trade Crypto

With all the rave going on about cryptocurrency, you definitely should be trying to understand cryptocurrency first as a technology and then as an asset class. To get started in investing and trading bitcoin and another crypto in Nigeria, you can use trusted cryptocurrency exchange platforms in Nigeria. Like Binance, Paxful and Remitano.

Also See: How to Buy Cryptocurrency in Nigeria

15. Online Book Publishing

If you’re good at writing or think you can become a good writer. Then you should consider publishing a book online. There are a couple of platforms that make book online publishing fairly easy.

Amazon, the world’s leading online publishing platform controls more than 60 per cent of the entire online publishing industry. Amazon has a very diverse global audience you can leverage by publishing with them. 

However, you must consider if the target audience for your book is on Amazon and if it will do well on Amazon. If not you should consider other online book publishing platforms like Lulu and Okadabook. 

Lulu is a top self-publishing platform for people who want to share their expertise by publishing a book. While Okadabook is a fast and free online publishing platform in Nigeria for monetizing books. Whenever your book is published or read by anyone, you get paid by Okadabooks.

16. Paid Private Facebook Group

Facebook groups are a great way to meet and connect to like-minded people and share your interests as well. They also present a great way to make money online in Nigeria as a student. But you need to make sure you’re attracting the right people to your group. You can do this by asking people questions before they join your group.

You can monetize your Facebook group by selling print-on-demand merchandise, Ad space and by selling courses as well.

Read: How to Make Money from Facebook in Nigeria

17. Sell an Online Course

Online courses offer a great way to make money online in Nigeria. People charge $100 to nearly $20000 for their online course, depending on their topic.

You don’t need the experience to teach an online course. As long as you have expertise in the topic you’re teaching as a course.

There are a bunch of platforms you can use to create an online course today. You can use Udemy, Outschool and Teachable to start creating your online course. You can also take this free training on how to create a 7-figure online course.

18. Make Money via Paid Webinars

If you’re an expert at a certain skill or have a particular knowledge that isn’t readily available. You can monetize your knowledge or skill via paid webinars.

You can make money online in Nigeria via paid webinars. All you need is to choose the right platform to host your webinars, promote your webinar effectively and always deliver quality content to your webinar attendees.

Some ideas for webinars can include; Cooking class, An Excel class, a weight loss program and even a design workshop. 

To host your webinars you can use platforms like Zoom and WebinarJam. If you really want to know how to create a successful webinar, this guide will teach you the secrets to creating a successful webinar.

19. Play to Earn Games

There are games and apps that pay people in Nigeria real money. If you can make out time to play these games as a student, ten you can make some extra cash.

Make Money in Nigeria as a Student Without Investment (Offline Ideas)

Here are ways you can make money offline in Nigeria as a student.

• Photography
• Laundry Services
• Computer repair
• Phone repair
• Do nails or makeup /Gele
• Become a Disk Jockey (DJ)
• Master of ceremony
• Fitness training
• Become a model
• Become a motivational speaker and start small
• Start ushering services
• Start event planning business
• Open a mini restaurant, sell special delicacies you can prepare
• Hairdressing/ natural hair carer
• Tailoring
• Barbing salon
• Painting house or wallpaper
• Create comedy skits
• Training predecessors students skills you know
• Phone and computer repair
• Teach people how to use a computer
• Start a furniture workshop, etc
• Drive for Uber if you live in Lagos or Abuja
• Hostel accommodation agent
• Start running a bar
• Enter a scholarship competition
• Get an internship
• Write and Publish an Ebook
• Become a Jumia Agent
• Become a professional proofreader
• Apply for Grants in Nigeria