12 Profitable Businesses to Start with 500k in Nigeria

Updated on January 12, 2024

Want to start a business in Nigeria and you only have 500K? Here are the best and most profitable business ideas you can start with 500K if you live in Nigeria.

There are not a lot of lucrative businesses to start with 500k in Nigeria that can give you a profit consistently.

Especially with the uncertainty of the Naira and the current harsh economic conditions in the Country.

There are plenty of business ideas in Nigeria that have the potential to make you lots of money in the long run but starting them depends on your capital and how you go about running the business.

While some businesses require little to no capital, every successful business needs some capital eventually.

With just 500k in your pocket and some determination, you can start a business that generates a good source of income for you.

Some profitable businesses to start with 500k in Nigeria are; POS Agent Business, Beauty Salon Businesses, Barbing Salons, selling fashion Items, Logistics, and courier services, etc.

Now let us go into more detail. Here are the best businesses to start with 500k in Nigeria and how to go about it. Let’s get started.

12 Best Lucrative Businesses to Start with 500k in Nigeria

POS Agent Business

POS business in Nigeria is now a very popular business in the country.

If you already have a shop where you sell items then this business is perfect for you.

Even if you don’t have anywhere where you sell things, you can still start this business.

The stress of visiting banking halls and ATMs has created an opportunity for people to become POS (point of sale) agents and offer financial services in the local community.

Starting a POS agent business in Nigeria doesn’t require plenty of capital or any technical knowledge to begin.

POS business is one of the easiest profitable businesses to start with 500k in Nigeria. Here are the requirements to start this business:

A shop in a good location
Register with a mobile money agent company
Get a POS device
and some cash in hand to pay customers who want to withdraw

Some of the best POS agent businesses to start in Nigeria are GTB POS, Moniepoint POS, Opay POS, Baxi POS, Kudi POS, and Palmpay POS.

Beauty Salon Business

This is one of the top profitable businesses to start with 500k in Nigeria, especially if you’re a lady.

The beauty market in Nigeria is projected to be around $34.5 billion (2021).

Women spend a lot of money on their beauty in their bid to look good. Whether it’s making hair, fixing nails, or doing makeup, a beauty salon business is a very profitable business to start in Nigeria with 500k.

What you need are: a good location, top-notch beautician skills (yourself or hired help), and good customer service and your 500k invested capital will start to rake in the millions.

Barbing Salon Business

Similar to the Beauty Salon business, a barbing salon is similar, albeit for a man (Women are now going into this business like crazy).

Barbing salon business is one of the best businesses to start with 500k in Nigeria as people cut and treat their hair every day.

However, you need to be able to cut hair very well to make money from this business.

You don’t have to do it yourself, you can recruit someone good at barbing.

In this business, location is important, your space or shop has to be very comfortable for people as well.

Checkout: Cheapest Businesses to Start in Nigeria

Sell Fashion Items

Selling fashion items is a very profitable business. Whether it is used or new items, there is a market for it in Nigeria.

If you have great fashion taste, this is one of the most lucrative businesses to start with 500k in Nigeria.

You can own a physical shop where you sell and you can also own an online store as well. Doing both is the more profitable strategy.

If you’re going to go into this business, make sure you keep in touch with fashion trends and you always sell quality at very good prices.

Logistics & Courier Business

This is another business that a lot of people are going into because of the high demand.

With the internet and social media, more and more people are buying online, so there’s a need to get these items delivered.

This is where a logistics and courier business comes in.

This is a great business to start with 500k in Nigeria.

However, with 500k you might be able to buy just one used bike for your logistics and courier business.

But if you know what you are doing, you can grow it into a business with multiple bikes.

But it is going to take dedication and innovation

Just make sure that you always deliver your customer’s item, safely and fast.

Block Moulding Business

As long as real estate continues to thrive, people will continue to build houses.

So a block molding business is one of the best businesses to start with 500k in Nigeria.

The main requirements for this business are:

You need to understand how the block mold business works
a space (rent a land maybe?) With a nearby source of water and near where there will be ongoing construction for a long time.
Get Moulding Machines (Pallets, Block Mould, Lister)

Food Business

This business is great for you if you have a passion for cooking.

There are so many types of food businesses you can do like Catering services, Bakery, Restaurants, Food kiosks (Eatery), Food trucks, and even an online food business, where you deliver food to people at home and in their offices.

While there are so many types of food businesses you can start, you have to consider that we are talking about profitable businesses to start with 500k in Nigeria.

So whatever food business you choose to start make sure it is within your budget of 50k.

Printing Business

This is one of the most profitable businesses you can start with 500k, where you can make daily income easily.

From banners to t-shirts to pamphlets, and then books and magazines the amount of print work done especially in urban areas that are very populated and in universities and other tertiary institutions is enormous.

The main requirements to commence a printing business are:

Printing machines (you have to find the ones that fit into your 500k budget and start from there)
Space /shop where you can do the printing
Then print materials like paper, ink, etc.
And then a source of power supply.

Used Books Business

Just as thousands of books are published every day, millions of people buy these books as well. People are seeking information and knowledge, so, naturally, they turn to books.

Amazon started off selling just books and see where it is today. Books are a window into the world and it is one of those lucrative businesses to start with 500k in Nigeria, where you can make so much profit.

You just have to do your research and know the type of books (genre) that sell here in Nigeria. I guess that they are romantic books, self-help, financial books, and religious books too.

Another issue is getting good sources where you can find used books that are in very good condition.

While getting a shop to use to sell these books, you can put that capital to better use and sell wholly online.

Car Wash Business

With the rate at which people are buying cars in Nigeria despite the economic decline, there is always an opportunity for a new car wash business in a place that is very populated.

People don’t have the time to clean their car and do a great job of it so a car wash is a solution to the problem.

Once you have space, a nearby water source, and some equipment for car cleaning. You can kick-start this business and start making money every day.

Digital Publication

A digital publication is just a fancy way of saying a blog or a vlog. Blogs and vlogs are still a great way to make money.

It just requires time patience, and an understanding of the mechanics of the business.

This is one of the best businesses to start with 500k in Nigeria. You can start a blog at little cost and a vlog for free.

The main thing is in the content creation (Posts and videos).

You can invest the bulk of the 500k into content creation by hiring people or a third party to do it.

Just make sure that your digital publication is in a niche that makes sense. Instead of your blog or vlog being about everything, pick a category and focus there.

Online Store

One of the lucrative online businesses to start with 500k in Nigeria right now is an online store.

It is one of the businesses to start if you have 500k as your capital. Also, you don’t get to pay for an online store if you want.

While you can pay someone to create a good e-commerce website for you at around 200k, you can use another alternative where you can create a free online store in Nigeria with Paystack, Flutterwave, and Bumpa.

You can even use Instagram and WhatsApp if you just want to do social commerce (selling strictly on social media)

You can sell anything from new fashion items to used ones, books, or anything you think people are looking to buy online.

You can even register on Jumia and Konga and own a store where you get to sell on popular online marketplaces that already have loads of buying-intent traffic coming their way.

What Business to Start with 500k in Nigeria

Some profitable businesses to start with 500k in Nigeria are; POS Agent Business, Beauty Salon Businesses, Barbing Salons, selling fashion Items, Logistics, and courier services, block moulding businesses, Food businesses, Printing Businesses, Used books businesses, Car wash, Digital publication and an online store.

Key Takeaways

So now we have given you some ideas to work with, what’s is left for you to do is pick a business idea or category, learn about the business, and start it.

Take action today. Thinking about it is not enough.

If you have more ideas you think should be included in this post or have tried any of these businesses before and want to share your thoughts, please comment.